


give me grace, bury my sins

by Hazloveshisboo, mediocregrace



Series: give me grace, bury my sins [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alive Mary Winchester, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Rewrite, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Eventual Castiel/Dean Winchester, John Winchester Dies, Mary Winchester Lives, Mary Winchester Raises Dean Winchester and Sam Winchester, Multi, Openly Bisexual Dean Winchester, but it's complicated and isn't resolved for a few chapters, he is well-adjusted because Mary raised him instead of John, it gets smutty eventually, this fic is completed but we will be uploading on a schedule, up until a point and then it's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:01:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 117,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28991115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hazloveshisboo/pseuds/Hazloveshisboo, https://archiveofourown.org/users/mediocregrace/pseuds/mediocregrace
Summary: About an hour into the drive to Kansas, Dean’s phone rang. He answered instantly and talked for a few minutes; Mary was too distracted to pay attention to what he was saying.“Mom,” Dean said after he had hung up. Mary glanced over, swallowing heavily when she saw how pale Dean had gotten. “Jess died just like Dad.”-a loose interpretation of how canon would have differed if it had been John to die in the nursery instead of Mary
Relationships: Bela Talbot/Sam Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: give me grace, bury my sins [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2162589
Comments: 12
Kudos: 56





	1. Chapter 1

Mary Winchester awoke with a start to the sound of her cell phone ringing and vibrating on her bedside table. Her son Sam, she noted, picking up the phone to answer. 

“Hey Sam, is everything okay?” she asked, a bit panicked that he would be calling at such a late hour. She paused for a moment, awaiting a response, but was met with the sound of gasping breaths. “Sam! Can you hear me? What’s going on?”

After another tense moment, she heard a deep, rattling breath and then, “Mom...I, I don’t know what - Jess, Jess is dead.” Mary paled. Hearing her boy, her Sammy, sound so frightened made her heart stutter in her chest. 

“Okay, it’s going to be okay. Dean and I are going to come get you, okay, we’re going to figure this out,” Mary climbed out of bed and grabbed her jeans from the chair in the corner of her room and tugged them on quickly as she could, doing the same with one of Sam’s college sweatshirts. “Where are you?” 

“I’m outside the apartment, I just - I don’t know what to do, Mom,” Sam said. Mary could hear the trembling in his voice and wanted nothing more than to be able to fix it, however she could. She hurried down the hall to Dean’s room and pounded on his door. 

“Okay, baby, just breathe,” Mary reassured him. “Dean and I are coming, it’s going to be okay. We’re going to figure this out. I’m going to hang up now, so we can drive, but I want you to call Bobby, okay?” It was silent over the line as the door was yanked open, Dean glaring at her with that signature Winchester pout. “I love you, Sam, we’ll be there before you know it.” 

“I love you too, Mom,” Sam’s voice was quiet and Mary could hear the sobs he was holding back. “I’ll call Bobby now.”

“Good, okay, we’ll be there soon,” Mary hung up with a deep breath. “Something happened to Jess. She’s dead. Get dressed, we need to leave.” Dean’s eyes widened and he nodded, snatching his jeans from the floor. 

“Which car we taking?” he asked as they headed downstairs, shoving their boots on. 

“Impala, it’ll get us there faster,” Mary grabbed the keys from the hook on the garage wall and slid into the driver's seat while Dean got in the passenger seat. They were both silent as they drove through town to get to the interstate. 

About an hour into the drive to Kansas, Dean’s phone rang. He answered instantly and talked for a few minutes; Mary was too distracted to pay attention to what he was saying. 

“Mom,” Dean said after he had hung up. Mary glanced over, swallowing heavily when she saw how pale Dean had gotten. “Jess died just like Dad.” 

_ 1983 _

_ Mary was downstairs in the kitchen putting away the last few dishes from dinner that night when she heard a thump come from somewhere upstairs. She frowned - Dean was in bed and asleep and Sam was only six months, wrapped up tight in his crib. She heard another noise and began moving up the stairs quickly but quietly, heart quickening when she saw her and John’s bedroom empty, and Sam’s nursery door slightly ajar. She stepped forward slowly and opened the door, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw nothing was amiss.  _

_ “Hey little man,” she said softly as she ran a finger over Sam’s smooth cheek. “You should be sleeping.” Sam let out a little giggle, which Mary reciprocated until something dark and red dripped onto her hand. Her breath caught as she turned and looked up to see John, stomach cut open, and pressed flat to the ceiling. “John-” she choked out just as the room burst into flames, starting at John’s body and spreading quickly.  _

_ Mary could do nothing but stare in horror as John’s body was completely engulfed. Hearing Dean shout for her from the hall finally broke her from her trance. She reached into the crib and gathered Sam in her arms, her baby letting out loud cries. She rushed from the room, cradling Sam to her chest when she heard Dean once more, this time he was coming out from his room, calling for her.  _

_ “Take your brother outside, as fast as you can!” Mary said as she tucked Sam into his older brother’s arms. “Don’t look back, now, Dean, go!” She gave him a firm shove before turning back to the nursery and hurrying inside. “John! John!” _

_ Mary gasped as she finally got a glimpse through the heavy smoke to see John’s body burned and charred, the fire covering the entire ceiling and most of the walls. “John!” she shouted once more, a heartbroken call to her lost husband. She stumbled out of the room just as the fire reached the floor and snaked toward her. She sprinted down the stairs and out of the house toward her sons. She heard the windows blow out behind her and sirens in the distance, but the only thing that mattered was that her boys were safe.  _

-

Bobby had called to alert Dean that Sam would be at the regional hospital instead of his apartment complex, as the EMTs had wanted to check up on him for smoke inhalation. As Mary pulled into the parking lot, Dean scanned the space in search of his brother. He spotted Sam, seated on a bench, staring off at the early morning sky, just beginning to shift from gray towards pink. 

Mary pulled up toward the curb, and Dean jumped out to help Sam into the car. “Hey Sammy,” Dean said gently, putting a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “We’ve got you now.” 

Sam looked up at Dean, eyes brimming with tears. He opened his mouth to say something, but only a choked sob escaped, and he crumpled, hiding his face in his hands. “Oh, buddy, okay,” Dean said, as he sat down on the bench next to Sam, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, “We’re going to figure this out, but right now, we need to get you somewhere that you can get some sleep.” 

After a moment, Sam’s breathing began to regulate, and he lifted his head, wiping at his face. He nodded at Dean, still unable to talk. Dean stood up, taking Sam with him. 

When they reached the Impala, Mary got out of the car, engulfing her youngest son in a hug, “Oh, my baby. I’m so sorry.” 

Sam crawled into the back of the Impala, curling into himself as if he could disappear. Mary smiled sadly, grabbing a blanket from the trunk of the car. Despite how awful the situation was, Mary always cherished the moments when her boys still needed her. She opened the door nearest to Sam, carefully arranging the blanket to cover as much of him as possible. She caressed his cheek, giving him one last look before closing the door. She and Dean made eye contact over the top of the car and she tossed the keys to him, not wanting to be behind the wheel for another lengthy drive. Dean caught the keys easily and slid into the driver’s seat. He started the car, before turning to face the back seat.

“Hey, Sammy? Is there any information you think we can get from here, or are we good to head home and try and solve this from there?” 

Sam shifted in the back seat, pulling the blanket tighter around himself. “I just want to go home, I can’t go back in there.”

Dean nodded, shifting the Impala into gear and pulling out of the parking lot, “We’ll get you home.” 

Sam mumbled a reply, already lulled into sleep by the motion of the car and the sound of his mom and brother talking quietly in the front seat. Dean glanced at Sam about an hour into the drive back to Sioux Falls to make sure his little brother was truly asleep. “What are we gonna do, Mom?” 

“I don’t know, Dean, not really. If it’s the same thing that killed your dad…” Mary trailed off. “And I think it is. Being held on the ceiling, stomachs cut, and the building on fire? That’s too specific to be anything else. But we’ll talk about this at home, wth Bobby.” Dean nodded and turned his focus back to the road. 

-

When they pulled into their Sioux Falls home mid-afternoon, Bobby and Karen were already parked outside the house, waiting to help out in any way that they could. Mary greeted them, unlocking the door to usher everyone inside. Bobby clapped a hand on Sam’s shoulder, “I’m sorry, son.” 

Sam nodded slightly, eyes trained on the floor. Dean smiled tightly at Bobby, “I’m gonna take Sammy up to his room and I’ll be right back down,” he said, leading Sam out of the kitchen gently with a hand on his back. 

“Okay,” Mary said as the brothers disappeared, “So, what do we know? Did Sam tell you anything else, other than that it was similar to the way John died?”

“No, he was pretty shaken up,” Bobby sighed with a frown, but leaned in closer and lowered his voice, “But we’re on the same page here, right? No way this wasn’t the same demon that got John.”

“I think you’re right,” Mary said as she stood up from the kitchen table, “I just don’t know why it would go after his girlfriend.” 

Dean returned to the kitchen with a somber look on his face as he pulled out a chair to sit down with Karen and Bobby, “He’s looking rough, Mom. I don’t know what to do.” He let out a soft sigh as Bobby grabbed his shoulder comfortingly, leaning into the touch. 

Mary smiled and leaned in to kiss Dean’s head. “To start, I’m going to make him some tomato-rice soup, and then, we’re going to kill the demon that did this.” 

“Is there anyone that can help us out with this?” Dean asked, looking from his mom, to Bobby, to Karen.

Bobby and Karen nodded at the same time, “There’s a few people we can contact,” replied Bobby. “We’ll make some calls.” 

-

It was nearly a week before Sam was ready to discuss what had happened. Days passed in which someone - usually either Dean or Mary, although occasionally Bobby or Karen - brought him a meal, asked him how he was doing, only to receive a grunt from under the pile of blankets on the bed as a response. On the fifth or sixth day, Dean walked into the room with a heavy sigh, “Okay, Sammy. It’s time for you to get out of bed, get some air, something. We’re all so worried about you.” 

Sam grunted, shifting slightly under the comforter. Dean walked further into the room, flinging open the curtains before approaching the bed. Not really expecting a response, Dean continued, “At the very least, you need to take a shower and brush your teeth. Those two are non-negotiable.” 

Realizing that Dean didn’t plan to leave him alone anytime soon, Sam sighed, sitting up, “If I take a shower, will you stop bothering me?” Sam’s voice was rough from days of disuse, “I’m no use on this one, I can’t focus”

Dean smiled sadly, “It’s not about solving the case, Sammy, it’s about helping you feel better.” 

With a grunt, Sam hauled himself out of the bed, and walked over to his dresser. He picked out some clean clothes and gave Dean a pained smile before heading to the bathroom. When Dean heard the shower start, he got to work picking up the trash and dirty dishes that had accumulated in Sam’s room. He brought everything down to dispose of, and at Mary’s suggestion, went back up to strip and remake the bed before Sam came back to the room. 

Begrudgingly, Sam admitted that Dean was right, showering and brushing his teeth had made him feel like he had a bit of control over at least one thing in his life. He even felt good enough that, after putting his dirty clothes in his hamper, he headed downstairs to see what his mom and brother were up to. 

Mary and Dean were in the kitchen, talking quietly when Sam entered. They quieted instantly, turning to look at him. Mary smiled, walking over to him, “Hey baby, how are you feeling? Can I get you something to eat?”

Sam shook his head, voice still hoarse, “No thanks, I’m not hungry.” Mary nodded, placing a steaming mug of tea in front of him anyway.

Dean cleared his throat, “Are you going to be okay hearing about how the case is going?” 

  
Sam looked down, wrapping both hands around the mug in front of him, “I’ll let you know if it gets to be too much.” 

“Okay,” Dean said nodding, “Jo and Ash drove up from Nebraska a few days ago and they’re staying at Bobby’s. They’re working on trying to understand the pattern of these demon attacks. Ellen needed to stay at the Roadhouse, but she sends her love.” 

Sam nodded, “So what do we know so far?” 

It was Mary who spoke this time, explaining that when she was young, she had been forced into a deal with a demon - before she had all of the knowledge that she had now - choosing to have John resurrected in exchange for doing a favor for the demon ten years after the fact. True to its word, the demon had come back ten years to the day after John was resurrected, and killed John while he was checking on Sam. 

“Since Jess was killed in the same way, exactly 22 years to the day that John was killed, we just don’t see a way that it wasn’t the same thing.” Mary said, sighing, “We can’t figure out exactly why, but Jo and Ash are working on an algorithm to track the pattern of the omens around this so we can figure out what this demon is doing.” 

Sam swallowed thickly, “I haven’t been… totally honest with you guys about something,” he paused, looking between his mother and brother, “For about a week before it happened, I had these dreams, every single night. Every time it would be exactly the same, Jess was pinned to the ceiling, blood dripping from a cut on her abdomen. I would scream her name and reach out to her but I couldn’t reach and then everything burst into flames. It happened  _ exactly  _ like that in real life. It was like I had a vision of it happening and I still couldn’t stop it. I didn’t even tell her, I could have -” 

Mary reached across the table, grabbing one of his hands, “No, honey, you did everything you could. This demon is powerful and you couldn’t have changed the outcome.” 

Sam remained silent, looking down at his hands. “We should probably talk to the others about the visions, though,” said Dean, speaking for the first time in a while, “Jo and Ash should be over with Bobby in about half an hour anyway”

-

When a knock sounded at the door, Mary jumped up to open it, greeting everyone with a smile much larger than in days past. They soon discovered the reason for her delight when they stepped into the kitchen to see Sam seated at the table. 

Jo was the first to greet him, with a gentle hand on his shoulder, “Hey Sam, it’s good to see you. How are you holding up?” 

He smiled tightly at her, “I’m doing the best I can.” 

Jo and Ash nodded, taking seats at the table by Bobby. Sam picked at a thread on his shirt sleeve, keeping his eyes trained his hands while Dean filled them in on the information Sam had shared about his dreams. 

Bobby looked to Sam, addressing him directly, “Have you ever had other dreams that have come true?” 

Sam shook his head, “Not that I’m aware of. It didn’t even really feel like a normal dream.”

Bobby nodded, “Well, let us know if you have any other strange dreams, that seems like that might be the key to figuring this out. In the meantime, our geniuses over here have been working on some kind of complicated math bullshit to project where these events might happen.”

“To be fair,” Jo said with a smile, “It’s not that complicated. It’s just a statistical analysis of meteorological and geographic data, omens like cattle deaths or other unusual occurrences and then cross-referenced with any significant events happening on your birthday, the day John died, and the day that Jess died.”

Ash cut in, “And now, any time that there is a statistically significant chance that the demon will show up, the program that Jo and I designed will send us all an alert and a potential geographic profile so that we can have the best chance at catching this thing,” 

“I really appreciate the effort that all of you have put into helping us figure this out. It means a lot,” Sam said, tears starting to well in his eyes. 

“Of course, son,” said Bobby, “we take care of each other in this family.” 

-

Several months passed before Sam’s sleep was plagued with another vision. Jo and Ash had long gone back to Nebraska with the promise of returning once there was a solid lead to follow. Sam, Dean and Mary had taken on smaller hunting jobs just to keep themselves busy while waiting anxiously for new leads. 

Sam was finally beginning to get sleep again - his usual sleep wrought with nightmares about Jess - when it happened again. He bolted awake, scrambling for his notepad to jot down as many details as possible so that he could help the family he had seen. A familiar tree, a woman screaming and pounding against a window, a house he couldn’t quite place, but knew he’d seen before. When he was satisfied with his sketch of the unique-looking tree, he threw himself out of bed with a sigh, pulling on whichever clean clothes he could find the easiest. He heard someone bustling around in the kitchen, so he made his way down to join and share his vision. 

The smell of coffee wafted through the kitchen as Mary danced around, trying to make a halfway decent breakfast, though she wasn’t a very good cook barring the five or six dishes she had perfected over the years. She jumped halfway out of her skin when Sam cleared his throat, not accustomed to her boys being up before 9 in the morning if they could help it. “Hey baby,” she said, trying to regulate her heart rate and breathing, “Any requests for breakfast?” 

Sam smiled, one of the first genuine smiles she’s seen from him in a while, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I think I’m just going to get some coffee and yogurt, but thank you.” 

Mary nodded, “So, what’s got you up so early?”

Sam, sighed, pouring himself a cup of coffee, “I think I had another vision. This time it was this family, it seemed like they were trapped inside a house and the mother was screaming something about her children, pounding desperately on the windows. The house looked really familiar to me, but I’m not sure why. There was a really unique tree outside that I drew a sketch of so that maybe we could find the house.” 

Once both of them were seated at the table, Mary picked up Sam’s notepad, looking at the sketch. She paled as her eyes flitted over it, “Do you think you could remember any details about the house?”

Sam closed his eyes, trying to recall, “It’s two stories… there’s pillars on the front. It’s light blue, maybe grey.... The tree is beside it, near a red brick chimney…” he opened his eyes again, this time in shock when he heard Mary draw in a sharp breath. 

“Mom, what?” he asked, his eyebrows knitting in concern, “Are you okay?” 

Still pale, she took a breath, “Go pack a bag and wake your brother up, we have to go.” Sam knew better than to argue with his mother on the best of days, much less when she was like this, so he did as he was told and headed upstairs to wake Dean. He gave Dean the same instructions and then headed to his own room to grab his bag, shoving some clothes and toiletries into a duffle bag. He met Dean at the garage door, Mary already waiting with the car running. 

“Are you going to tell us what this is about?” Dean asked once they were on the road. 

“Sam’s dream, his vision,” Mary replied. “It was of our house. In Lawrence. Where your father died.” 

  
The three were silent until they reached the Kansas border, when Dean called Bobby to let him know where they were and that they were relatively safe. “So what’s the plan then? ‘Cause we can’t just find this woman and tell her that she's in danger,” he asked once he had hung up. 

“Play the nostalgia card,” Mary said easily. “It’s our old house, we haven’t seen it in twenty years, we just wanted to stop by and see what’s changed. At least we might be able to get inside the house then. From there we can try and put in some protection sigils and wards.” 

“There’s not anything else we can do?” Sam asked, a bit desperately. Now that he knew his dreams weren’t just dreams, he wanted to do anything he could to help this family. 

“If she still lives in town, there’s someone that might be able to help,” Mary answered. “Her name is Missouri and she’s a psychic. She might be able to sense if there’s still anything in the house. Or if there’s anything new.” 

They were soon pulling into their old neighborhood, Mary parking the Impala on the street across from their old home. “Ready?” The three of them exited the car, making their way across the street and to the house that used to be so familiar to them - Mary and Dean at least. 

Mary stood in front of her sons on the stoop and rang the doorbell, the door swinging open a moment later to reveal a young woman holding a toddler on her hip. “Hi, can I help you?” 

“Yes, I’m Mary Winchester and these are my sons, Sam and Dean,” she started, making sure to keep her tone light and pleasant. “We used to live in this house, actually, about twenty years ago. We moved to Sioux Falls when Sam was a baby and we haven’t been back since.” 

“Would you like to come in?” The woman asked, smiling warmly. “I’m Jenny and this is my son Ritchie. My daughter Sari is playing in the living room. You said your name is Winchester?” 

“That’s right, yeah,” Mary said. “The house looks good. You’ve done a wonderful job with it.” 

“Thank you, that’s very kind of you,” Jenny said as they entered the living room. She set Ritchie down and urged him to go play with his sister. “I actually have something for you. There was some stuff left in the basement of the previous owners, though I guess they were actually left by you.” 

Jenny disappeared into the kitchen for a moment, returning with a stack of photographs in her hand, holding them out for Mary. 

“Oh,” Mary inhaled sharply as she took the pictures, the top one displaying her, John, and Dean while the boy was just two years old. “Thank you for these. I thought I would never see them again.” 

“It’s no problem. I’m glad I could return them. Do you mind me asking why you moved?” Jenny asked. “It just seems like such a beautiful house in a wonderful part of town.” 

“My husband...he passed away not long after Sammy was born and I just couldn’t stay here. I wanted a fresh start for my boys so I headed up to South Dakota to stay with some friends,” Mary explained. “Would you mind if we just looked around? We won’t take long, I promise.” Jenny smiled sadly and nodded. 

  
“Of course, take your time. I’ll stay down here,” she offered and gestured for the stairs. Dean thanked her as they all three headed up, stopping at the landing. 

“Your vision, Sam? Which room was it?” Mary asked quietly once they were upstairs and out of earshot of Jenny and her kids. 

  
“Right corner when you’re looking at it from the front,” he said. “Which room is that?” 

“Your nursery,” Mary said solemnly, leading the boys down the hall to the correct room. Mary grabbed the handle but didn’t move to open it. 

“Mom?” Dean spoke softly, reaching out to take her other hand. “You okay?” 

“Yeah, baby, I just,” she looked at the door, her heart breaking all over again. “This is the room your father died in.” 

“It’ll be okay, Mom, we’re here with you,” Dean said and squeezed Mary’s hand. Mary smiled back at her eldest. 

“I know, but we better hurry. Jenny’s hospitality won’t last forever,” Mary said and finally pushed the door open. The room was that of a little girl - Sari’s. “Check for anything, EMF, sulfur, ectoplasm. Anything that proves something is going on here.” They set to work, checking the room thoroughly but quickly. 

“I’m getting some EMF, but I saw a transformer on the telephone pole just down the street so it might be from that,” Dean said, glancing out the window. “You getting anything?” 

“I haven’t found anything. I say we put up the wards and get out of here,” Sam suggested. Mary and Dean agreed, hiding the sigils and wards anywhere they dared - on the back of poster frames, the inside wall of the closet, even one on the backside of the headboard. 

“Let’s go, we don’t want Jenny to be suspicious,” Mary said and they all retreated back downstairs. “We just want to say thank you again for letting us see the house one more time. And if you need anything, we’re in town for a few more days so let me give you my number. This house...it’s got its quirks.” Mary laughed with Jenny as she wrote her cell number down a scrap piece of paper, sticking it to the fridge. 

“Have a good rest of your stay in Lawrence,” Jenny said as she walked them back to the door, waving them off as they clambered back into the Impala. 

“Now what? We go see your old psychic friend?” Dean asked as Mary started the car.

“Missouri, and yes, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Not only can she help with whatever is happening in this house, she might be able to help with the demon we’re tracking,” Mary said, pulling into the street. 

“What?” Sam leaned forward to get closer to Mary. “What do you mean she might be able to help with the demon?” 

“Well, right after your dad was killed and before I left town, I went to see several psychics. They were all phony, of course, until I met Missouri. I just needed to know that John had moved on, that he wasn’t going to be stuck between life and death with unfinished business,” Mary explained with a sigh. ”He did, Missouri checked the entire house just to be sure. But, she asked me about the deal that I made. So she might know something else.” 

They arrived at Missouri’s humble bungalow less than ten minutes later, and before they could even stand up straight after exiting the car, she was hurrying down the pathway, pulling Mary into a tight hug. 

“Oh, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you,” Missouri squeezed her tight. “Almost twenty-three years. And these must be your boys.” Dean and Sam both smiled politely. “Well, come on in. I’m sure we have a lot to talk about.” 

They were soon seated in Missouri’s house, each with a mug of a tea and a plate of cookies on the coffee table. “We wanted to talk to you about a few things, actually,” Mary started. “Sam...he’s been having dreams. Dreams that come true. His girlfriend was killed a few months ago and for the week before, he had dreams of her death, exactly how she died.” 

“And how did she die?” Missouri asked, turning to look at Sam. 

“Just like Dad did, pinned to the ceiling, stomach cut open, building on fire,” he said darkly, taking a sip from his tea to avoid having to say anything further. 

“That is worrisome,” Missouri said. “Are you here in Lawrence because you had a vision?” 

“A vision,” Mary answered for Sam, easily able to tell how much he didn’t want to talk about Jessica. “Of our house and a young woman trapped inside what used to be Sam’s nursery. Where John was killed.” Missouri continued to question them - mostly Sam - about the visions. They answered as much as they could but with how little they understood what was going on. 

“What you’re describing at the house, it just seems like a vengeful spirit,” Missouri mused, “Or maybe a Poltergeist.” 

Mary’s phone started ringing, so she stepped outside to take the call, leaving Sam and Dean to have a polite but awkward conversation with Missouri. Dean cleared his throat, “Do you know anything about the demon that killed our father? We really thought this case - Sam’s vision - would help us track it down but, it just doesn’t seem like we’re getting any closer.” 

Missouri nodded, “I don’t know much about it, or why Sam got this vision, but I do know that this demon will probably be the strongest you’ve ever faced. A standard exorcism ritual isn’t going to be enough to take it down. The energy it had… I felt it when I walked through your house all those years ago. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before.” 

Sam furrowed his brows, “How do we kill it, then?” 

“I wish I had something to offer you boys,” she said, smiling sadly, “Your best bet is to see if you can track down the Colt or something equally powerful-”

Mary burst back into the room with a panicked look on her face before they could ask what Missouri had meant, “We have to get back to the house, Jenny just called me in a panic. I think something is happening.”

-

Sam paled as they pulled up to the old house, the scene from his vision playing out before him. Jenny pounded at the window, screaming. Sam, Dean and Mary leapt from the Impala, running for the door, while Missouri followed slower, quietly speaking a protection chant. 

“Sam, you go get Sari and then come help us with Jenny,” Dean said as they entered the house, going their separate ways. 

Sam breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that Sari was asleep in her bed. He tried to wake her as gently as possible, ushering her downstairs to wait with Missouri. He started for the stairs when he heard the sound of the front door slamming shut, a telltale sign that the spirit didn’t want them to leave. 

“Oh, fuck,” he muttered, just as he heard a yell from Dean, “Sam, did you slam that or -” 

“No, Dean,” Sam replied, exasperated. Dean came down the stairs, followed by Jenny carrying Ritchie with Mary behind all of them, “Did you get a look at it? Is it the demon?” 

Mary shook her head, “It’s definitely a spirit. We need to figure out what’s keeping it here.” 

“I think I can help with that,” Missouri said calmly. “There is something in the basement. Something that is very spiritual. But it won’t let us get close.” 

“Jenny, you stay up here with the kids and Missouri,” Dean told the woman, grabbing one of the fire pokers and handing it to her. “If something comes at you, this will get rid of it, at least temporarily. Mom, Sam, let’s go.” The three Winchesters descended the stairs into the basement, the single lightbulb that lit the space swinging ominously. 

The basement was mostly empty, old rusted shelves pushed against one wall, the furnace and water heater in another corner and - directly across from them and on the floor - an old ammunition box. “It’s gotta be in that,” Sam said and began making his way across the basement; however, before he could get more than five feet he was thrown against the wall. Sam groaned as Mary rushed to his side, helping him sit up as Dean made a go for the ammunition box, getting a few feet closer before he was pushed onto his back. Mary squared her jaw and stood, glaring at the box. 

“Alright you fucker, it’s time to get the hell out of my house,” she said and began stalking toward the ammunition box, keeping her feet planted firmly when she felt the spirit try to move her. “This is not where you belong.” After struggling against the spirit’s efforts to keep her away from the box she was finally able to snatch it off the ground and open it, finding an old leather watch. She dropped the entire box to the floor, sprinkled salt and lighter fluid in, before lighting a match and finally dropping that in. The watch easily caught fire and soon Mary could feel the weight of the spirit holding her back dissipate. 

“Mary!” Missouri called down the stairs. “The spirit has moved on, it is safe to come upstairs now.” Mary helped both her boys to their feet before they climbed the stairs back to the main level of the house. Sari and Ritchie were playing in the living room while Jenny stood with Missouri in the doorway. 

“I don’t think I could ever thank you enough for what you’ve done,” Jenny said. “You saved our lives.” 

“It was the least we could do,” Sam said, awkwardly accepting the hug that Jenny offered, patting her back. “And you’ve got our number in case anything else happens.” 

They said their good-byes as Jenny walked the four of them to the front door, thanking them profusely once more. “It’s no trouble to us at all,” Mary reassured her and hugged her one last time before she shut the door. “Drive you home, Missouri?” 

-

On the way back up to Sioux Falls, Dean remembered something that had come up in his and Sam’s conversation with Missouri. “Mom, have you ever heard of the Colt?”

“Yeah, it’s an urban legend in the hunter community, why?” Mary answered, glancing over at him. 

  
“When Sammy and I were talking with Missouri about the demon, she said it was stronger than anything else we’ve ever gone up against and that it would take something special - like the Colt - to kill it,” Dean explained. “Does that mean this Colt or whatever is real?”

“The Colt is a gun, made by Samuel Colt himself, for a hunter. It’s rumored to be able to kill absolutely anything, but he only made 13 bullets. But no one has ever seen the thing,” Mary said. “If it was real I wouldn’t have any idea where to even start looking.” 

“Maybe Bobby’ll have one,” Sam muttered. Dean glanced back, not surprised at all when he saw Sam leaning his head back with his eyes closed. Either Sam was trying to sleep or feeling guilty all over again. 

“When we get home, we’ll go see Bobby to find out what he knows,” Dean said with a decisive nod. “Until then, you need some sleep, Sammy. I know you haven’t been getting your eight hours in.” 

Sam snorted. “I haven’t seen you sleep more than six hours in at least four years. You’re one to fucking talk.” 

“Oh shut up,” Dean grumbled. “I get all the sleep I need, thank you. Not my fault college screwed up your sleep schedule.” 

“I don’t think getting the recommended amount of sleep could be considered screwing up my sleep schedule,” Sam smirked and sat up. “How many cups of coffee do you drink a day?” 

“None of your fucking business,” Dean shot back, turning to glare at Sam this time. 

“That means enough to give you a heart attack by the time you’re forty,” Sam leaned forward and flicked his older brother’s ear. 

Mary’s heart flew as she watched her boys. The last few months had been so solemn and Sam had been so withdrawn, and seeing them like this, like they were 12 and 16 all over again, made her truly believe that everything would eventually be okay. 

-

“The Colt?” Bobby asked in disbelief. “You want to find the Colt? The Colt that probably doesn’t even exist?” 

“Missouri mentioned it, and I doubt she would have mentioned it if it wasn’t real,” Mary reasoned. “It’s worth a shot, anyway, and since we have no leads on the demon itself, we can at least work on finding a way to kill it.” 

“Well, I don’t know anything about the Colt, besides the basics, but I do know someone that will. She works in trading rare and unique supernatural objects,” Bobby said, heading to his desk to pull out an old leather journal. He flipped through it until he found the right page. “Bela Talbot. That’s who we need to talk to.” 

“Great,” Mary said, “Do we just call her?” 

Bobby sighed, “Bela’s… she’s not cheap. Normally, you’d need something big to even get her to the table. Fortunately for us, she owes me one. I’ll give her a call and see what she knows.” 

Sam, Dean and Mary sat in Bobby’s living room, waiting as Bobby seemed to be arguing with Bela over the phone. “So,” Dean said, turning to Mary, “If there were only 13 bullets, who’s to say that there are any left?”

Mary smiled, “If it’s real and we can track it down, I’m sure we can figure something out.”

Bobby returned to the living room looking slightly frustrated, “According to Bela, the Colt is certainly real, and she does know how to locate it,” 

Dean smiled, opening his mouth to talk when Bobby interrupted him, “But, she wants to meet and discuss her repayment before she’ll even think about helping us.”

-

Sam, Dean and Bobby crowded into a booth at a diner in Phoenix awaiting their meeting with Bela. Mary had been forced to stay behind in Sioux Falls after receiving an emergency call from their part-time hunter friend Jody. At the tinkling of the bell that hung from the door, Bobby, Sam and Dean turned to look who had entered and Bobby raised his hand in greeting to the woman who walked through the door. She made her way to their booth, taking a seat next to him. 

“It’s good to see you again, Bobby,” she said with a smile, and turned to look across the table, “And you must be Sam and Dean.” 

They nodded cautiously, but Bela continued before they had a chance to reply, “So, before I even consider helping you find the Colt, I need to know what you’re trying to do with it. I can’t have you wasting the bullets on something silly.” 

“Well,” Dean started, “In 1973, our mom made a deal with a demon, unaware of exactly what her end of it was. Ten years later, the demon came back and killed our dad. Gutted him, pinned him to the ceiling, burned our house down. And now, 22 years later, it did the same thing to Sammy’s girlfriend. We need to kill this son of a bitch.” 

Bela’s eyes widened and she shifted her gaze over to Sam, momentarily, “Demon deals are no joke. I’ll get it for you, under one condition.”

“Anything,” Dean said with a pleading look in his eye. 

“I’m trapped in a demon deal myself. Several years ago, I made a deal and now… my time is almost up. I help you, you help me.” 

Sam and Dean nodded slowly, but it was Bobby that spoke up, “We will do everything in our power. At the house in Sioux Falls, I have a heavily-warded panic room that should do the trick, keep you safe until we can figure something else out.” 

Satisfied with that, Bela set a gun down on the table with a wink, followed by a small box that was presumably full of bullets, “I thought we’d be able to work something out.”

-

“Bela was something,” Dean said as they drove back to Sioux Falls. “She always been like that?”

“As long as I’ve known her,” Bobby confirmed, flipping through an old mythology book from his spot in the passenger seat. 

“And how long have you known her? And why did she owe you?” Sam asked, leaning forward to look at Bobby better. 

“I saved her life some years ago. There was a witch, Bela got too close,” Bobby said simply. Sam accepted the answer, knowing he wouldn’t get anything else out of his pseudo-father. 

“Can we trust her? That what we have is the Colt?” Dean asked. 

“She keeps her deals, and so will we,” Bobby said. “Now shut up and focus on your driving before I shove my foot up your ass for crashing the car.” Dean mumbled something under his breath as he turned back the road, pressing down on the gas pedal, just to spite the older man. 

It wasn’t worth the smack to the back of his head. 

-

A few weeks after retrieving the Colt from Bela, they still hadn’t heard anything from Ash and Jo about a pattern in demonic omens. They spent all their free time examining the Colt, taking it apart and putting it back together to figure out how it worked and how to make more bullets. 

While Mary and Bobby often sat out to work on the Colt, or researching lore on crossroads demons, Sam and Dean often found themselves bored with that, and sought out a more hands-on approach. They occasionally sought out demons, trapping them and dousing them with holy water in the hopes of getting any kind of answer. Exorcisms and holy water became common parts of their lives, but what was uncommon was the day they were sought out by a demon who wanted to share information with them.

Ruby first showed up while Bobby and Mary were outside, working on the Colt. “That’s not going to work, you know.” 

Bobby jerked his head up with a start, pointing his gun at her, “Now, who the hell are you?” 

“You can call me Ruby,” she said, “I’m a demon but-” She was cut off as Bobby started the exorcism incantation, paralyzing her. 

“Bobby, wait!” shouted Mary, holding a hand up, indicating that he should stop. “Don’t exorcise her yet, I want to see what she has to say.” 

Bobby pursed her lips, nodding. Ruby raised her eyebrows with a smirk, “This is why women are smarter. I’m not like the other demons, I want to help you.” 

Bobby and Mary looked at each other for a moment, and then nodded, unspoken communication passed between them. Bobby turned back to Ruby, “And what’s the catch here? I presume you’re not doing this out of the goodness of your heart.” 

Ruby smiled, “I will trade you information for protection. I know what your boys have been doing to demons, sooner or later they’re going to find me, and when they do, I want to be safe. No holy water, no devil’s trap, no exorcism.” 

“I suppose that depends on what kind of information you’ve got,” Bobby said, narrowing his eyes, “Better be something good.”

Ruby let out a laugh, “Well, to start, I can help you with your little crossroads demon problem.” 

-

Ruby’s help with the crossroads demon, as it turned out, wasn’t much. After Bobby and Mary gathered Sam and Dean in the living room to explain the situation, Ruby informed them that there was essentially no way to free Bela from her deal, and that even killing the demon holding her deal wouldn’t do the trick. 

“Keeping your friend in that room might hold off the Hellhounds for a while, but” she tsked, “the door won’t hold forever, and if Lilith shows up to collect, your friend being sent to Hell will be the least of your worries.”

“You fucking bitch,” Dean roared, “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t exorcise you right now.”

“Technically,” Ruby said, unafraid, “I did what I said I’d do. I helped because now you know you’re wasting your time trying to save her. And, I can show you how to make more bullets for that gun of yours.” 

At that, Dean threw his hands up into the air and left the room. A resounding “Dammit!” followed by what sounded like a kick to the wall could be heard. Bobby and Mary stayed with Ruby, trying to learn how to make functional bullets for the Colt, and Sam left the room to check on Dean. 

“Dean?” Sam started, walking toward his brother. “I know it sucks, but we knew it was a long shot. And she’s just one demon, who knows if she’s even telling the truth.” 

“We made a deal, Sam, and I don’t intend to break it. We’re finding a way to get Bela out of her deal,” Dean said and rubbed the back of his head. “And this Ruby chick...she’s a demon, Sam, why in the world would she want to help us?” 

“I don’t know, man, and I don’t know if she really wants to, but right now she’s helping us with the Colt and that’s what we need,” Sam said, sitting on the couch next to Dean. “We don’t have to trust her, and we don’t have to take her word as final, but we do need to make sure she’s not suspicious of us.” 

“You’re too smart for your own good sometimes,” Dean said with a small smirk. “You’re right. We work with her for now, but we keep doing what we’re doing. Speaking of, Jo sent me some coordinates for some demonic omens they’ve been picking up. Get packed up and we’ll go take care of it.” Sam nodded and headed upstairs, Dean heading into the kitchen to tell Mary where they were going. 

-

During one of Sam and Dean’s routine demon interrogation trips, Sam had another vision. This time it was of an older man who received a phone call and then made his way to the nearby gun store where he shot the clerk and then himself. He told Dean and his brother recommended he call Ash or Jo and give them any details he remembered so that they could track the location of the vision. Luckily, Sam caught the name of both the gun shop and the bus that was driving past, and Jo was able to give them Guthrie, Oklahoma. 

“And she said there were no demonic omens?” Dean confirmed as they drove down the main road in town. 

“Not in the last six months, dude. And the only thing we really know of that can compel people to do something like this is a siren but nothing else points to that,” Sam shook his head. “I have no idea what we’re walking into.” 

“Well, first thing we have to find the shop and stop the guy,” Dean said. “Then maybe we can question him, figure out who called him.” 

Sam’s eyes widened, “Wait, pull over here, this is the store.” 

Dean did as he was told, “I’m going to wait outside just in case the guy decides to run, you go in and do your thing.” 

Sam ran into the store but saw that he was almost too late. The man from his vision was already at the counter and talking to the owner. Sam glanced around quickly and spotted the fire alarm by the door and hurried over, pulling it and setting it off. As the alarm sounded, people flooded out of the building, thankfully including the one from Sam’s vision. Sam approached him outside, but before he could get a word out to try and stop him to talk, the man stepped in front of an oncoming bus, dying on impact. 

Gasping in shock, Sam took a step back. He shook his head as if he could physically erase what he had just witnessed. His shock was compounded when he saw a man drive past in what was unmistakably the Impala. Fearing the worst, he began yelling for Dean. 

-

Dean was standing on the sidewalk, a bit dazed when Sam found him. “What the hell, man?” Sam yelled, walking over to inspect Dean, “What happened? I saw some guy driving the Impala away. Did he knock you out?” 

“No, I -” Dean said, a bit confused, “He asked me for the keys and then he just… took it.” 

Sam shook his head,” So, the monster we’re looking for comes up, compels you and you just let him? What the hell are we up against?” 

“It was just some guy,” Dean said, walking in the direction the man had taken the car, “Maybe a witch or something.” 

Sam followed slightly behind Dean, “What are we even going to do? All I have on me right now is my gun, everything else is in the trunk.”

Fortunately, the downtown area wasn’t very big, and despite the fact that they were on foot, they found the Impala fairly easily. “Bastard couldn’t have gone far,” Dean said, scanning the area for the man who had taken the car, “I’m going to kill him.” 

The man who had stolen the Impala walked towards them, wide-eyed, “What the hell are you two doing? Get away from my car.” 

Dean stepped back dutifully, but Sam remained in place, glaring. “I said, move!” yelled the man, a confused expression coming across his face. 

Sam took a few steps towards the man who was backing away now, “It looks like your power doesn’t work on me. It’s mind control, right? You say the word and people do whatever you want?” 

Unsure of how to respond, the man just nodded. Sam intended to say more, to ask further questions, but within seconds he was on his knees, a painful vision shooting through his brain. He saw a woman at a gas station, covering herself in gasoline and then lighting herself on fire in front of horrified onlookers. Dean rushed toward Sam, who was groaning in pain on the asphalt. 

“What the hell did you do to him?” Dean yelled gruffly, glaring at the man. 

The man spluttered, “I didn’t do anything, I -”    
  
He was interrupted by Sam, speaking through gritted teeth, “A woman is going to kill herself. She gets a phone call, douses herself in gasoline, and then lights a lighter.” 

Before anyone else can speak, a fire engine takes off down the road, sirens blaring. An unspoken conversation passes between Sam and Dean, and Dean runs off to follow it. 

“I can’t let you go anywhere,” Sam said, to the man, “We still don’t know who’s doing this, and if you ask me, it’s a little too coincidental that people are being mind-controlled into suicide and it just so happens that you possess the power of mind control.” 

The man sat down on the pavement, and Sam looked down at him, expression softening, “What’s your name? I’m Sam.”

The man hesitated for a second, “It’s Andy.” 

The two talked idly for a bit, jolted back to the situation at hand when Sam’s phone rang. “I was too late, Sammy. She was already charcoal by the time I got here.”

Sam nodded, processing the information. “Then it couldn’t have been Andy, he’s been here with me the whole time.” 

“I think we better call Ash and Jo,” Dean said tentatively, “If his power doesn’t work on you, then maybe…” 

“Yeah,” Sam said tightly, “You get back here and we can give them a call.”

-

Dean and Andy sat awkwardly at the small table in the motel room, while Sam was on the phone with Ash, “His name is Andy Gallagher. I’m immune to his powers and so we wondered…” 

“Give me one second,” said Ash, voice tinny over speakerphone, “It looks like his mother was also killed…. Oh! That’s interesting, he’s adopted. Oh, wow…” 

“What?” Sam said, a bit on edge. 

“Well, there’s two things,” Ash said, “First, he has a twin running around out there somewhere - looks like his name is Webber - and also it looks like their biological mother bit it today. Lit herself on fire at a gas station this afternoon.” 

Sam and Dean exchanged a look, “Okay, thanks Ash,” replied Sam before hanging up the phone. 

Turning to Andy, Sam asked, “Do you know a Webber?”

Andy was shockingly pale, but he nodded, “He’s a friend of mine, we used to work together. He’s a weird guy… I never thought…” 

“Well, do you know his address?” Dean said, a touch too harshly. 

-

Although unhappy about having to sit out, Dean understood why he couldn’t go when Sam and Andy went to confront Andy’s twin, Webber. Neither of them were susceptible to mind control, but he was. 

Sam turned and gave Dean an awkward wave, and then he and Andy were off to confront Webber, while Dean was left alone to his beer and pay-per-view. 

Webber wasn’t hard to find, as he was still on the clock at work. Sam and Andy were waiting for him as he walked to his car after his shift. He was startled to see them, but smiled when he made eye contact with Andy, “What are you doing here, Andy?” 

The expression on Andy’s face remained hard, “I know what you’ve been doing Webber, I know everything.” 

Webber threw back his head and laughed, expression changing, “I seriously doubt that.” 

Andy faltered, but Sam spoke up, “Why have you been killing people?”

Webber’s expression quickly morphed into a glare, “After all these years, my whole life, feeling like I didn’t fit in, and then one night this man comes to me in a dream, telling me that I have a brother, a  _ twin brother.  _ They tried to separate us, they did separate us. They were in the way so they had to go.”

Andy furrowed his brows in confusion, “You could’ve just talked to me. I had no idea.”

Before Webber could reply, Sam spoke up, “What man? Do you know who he is?”

“Of course I know,” Webber said with a laugh, “I didn’t know at the time but I do now. He’s been coming to me for some time now. He has plans for me, plans for my brother and all of the special children like us.” 

Sam’s eyes widened, “Did he say what kind of plans?” 

Instead of addressing the question, Webber gave him a directive, “I want you to take your gun out, put it to your head, and pull the trigger.” 

Sam huffed a laugh, “Won’t work on me, buddy. I’m one of you.” 

Webber faltered, “Then I’ll just have to kill you myself. The demon said the strongest of us would lead the army, and it’s going to be me.” 

Webber pulled a small gun from his inner coat and pointed it at Sam, aimed it and made to squeeze the trigger but fell to the ground before he could make his shot, bleeding from a wound in his abdomen. Sam turned to Andy in shock; Andy held a gun in his hand, shaking. “He was going to kill you,” he said. 

Sam swallowed his surprise, not wanting Andy to fully break down, “Thank you, but now we need to get the hell out of here before the cops show up to investigate.” 

-

Early the next morning, Sam and Dean piled into the Impala for the long drive back to Sioux Falls. Sam called Mary to let them know that they would be back to the house sometime in the late afternoon or early evening, and that Bobby should stop by so that they could discuss the new information that they had learned. 

When Sam hung up the phone, Dean turned to eye Sam for a second, “So, Webber said that one of you is supposed to lead some demon army?”

“Yeah,” Sam said with a heavy sigh, “he really didn’t give a lot of information but the way that he made it seem, only one of us is supposed to survive to lead this army. Somehow, I get the feeling that opting out isn’t a viable option here.” 

Dean breathed a laugh, “We’ll figure something out, Sammy.” He turned up the radio, singing along to some old rock ballad that filled Sam with a feeling of warm nostalgia despite the anxiety that welled inside him. 

Sam drifted off to sleep somewhere between Oklahoma and Kansas, head lolling against the passenger side window in a way that would’ve been much more uncomfortable if he had gotten a decent amount of sleep. A bump in the road jolted him awake with a start. “How long was I out?” he asked, turning to Dean, who shrugged in response. “Maybe an hour or so, I’m not sure.” 

The brothers sat in comfortable silence for an indeterminate length of time before Dean spoke quietly, “You’re not evil, Sammy.” 

Sam sat up in his seat, turning to look at Dean incredulous, “I didn’t… what?” 

“I know you were thinking it,” Dean explained, “Finding out that you were somehow … created to lead some demon army. We’re going to figure it out. I will not let him take you.” 

Sam turned to stare out the window, watching endless fields of wheat whir by, “I know.”

The rest of the drive passed in relative silence, with just the sounds of Dean’s music and the rumble of the tires on the highway. This time, Sam couldn’t find sleep. 

-

Dean helped Mary fix dinner while Sam sat down at the kitchen table, recounting the events of the past few days with Bobby and Karen. Dean turned to look at them, noting that they appeared to be theorizing with Ash and Jo over speakerphone. Deciding that they were sufficiently distracted, he spoke to Mary in a low tone, “We’ve got to kill this thing, mom. He wants one of his … special kids… to run some kind of fucked up demon army. We can’t let him get Sam.” 

Mary nodded sharply, turning her attention to the pot that was about to boil over in front of her, “Of course, we’ll figure it out.” 

By the time dinner was served, everyone sat at the dinner table, discussing happier topics, like Bobby and Karen’s new dog, and how he was adjusting to life in their house, or the fact that Sam was thinking that he might be ready to go back and finish his last semester of college, once they’re done dealing with the demon.

Even with the looming threat, the Winchesters and friends laughed and ate together, enjoying this moment of near-normalcy, as they were all consciously aware that with their lifestyle at any time, they could be robbed of further moments of normalcy. 

As the night wore on, Bobby and Karen excused themselves with the explanation that their dog needed to be fed and taken for a walk before it got too late. Everyone exchanged hugs and well wishes, and then, as it had been so often before, it was just the three Winchesters. They retired to the living room, beers in hand. 

Mary flicked on the TV, and they caught the last half of some bad action movie that they had all seen several times before. They enjoyed the movie and their beer in comfortable silence, and when the credits rolled, they each retired to bed, one by one. 

-

After Dean received a call from a friend in Minnesota regarding a series of possessions, Sam and Dean loaded the Impala with a few jugs of holy water and went on their way, telling Mary that they should be back in two or three days. Mary had kissed each of them on the cheek, wished them a good hunt, and gone back into the house, unaware of the peril her children would find themselves in within a matter of days. 

The hunt started out like most others, they discussed their plans in a seedy motel room, loaded the mini fridge with beers and then headed to yet another abandoned warehouse. With a nod at each other, they went their separate ways. 

Dean breathed in the musty air, cursing - not for the first time - the demons for not choosing a cleaner environment to inhabit. He dispatched the first few demons he came across fairly easily. They had learned long ago that the easiest way to do rapid-fire exorcisms was to play the incantation from a tape recorder at 10x speed, which worked pretty well for Dean, until he heard a yell that was unmistakably from Sam. 

Ignoring personal safety and subtlety, Dean took off in the direction of the scream. By the time Dean arrived, Sam was surrounded by 3 demons and his tape recorder lay on the floor, smashed. Before Dean could unscrew the cap to his flask of holy water, two more demons were on him, ripping away his tape recorder as well. Dean smirked, trying to keep his tone light, “What is this, some kind of demon orgy?” 

“I’ll hand it to you,” said one of the demons, possessing the body of a shorter blonde woman who had to have been in her early twenties, “The tape recorders were a smart move. Probably shouldn’t have used something so fragile, though,” she dropped it to the floor, crushing it with the heel of her Doc Martens boot. 

Sam turned to make eye contact with Dean, an unspoken conversation between them as they wondered how the hell they were going to make it out of this one. Just when it seemed completely hopeless, they saw a familiar face at the doorway. 

Ruby ran through the room, stabbing every demon in her path. Sam and Dean’s eyes widened in awe as the demons crumpled in death from one simple stab wound each. Once they were all dead, Ruby turned to them, brushing sweat-soaked brown hair from her face. “You two,” she said, panting, “are fucking stupid.” 

“How did you find us?” Sam asked, “And what the hell was going on here?” 

“We’re on… different teams, so I’m not totally sure, but I’m pretty sure you and your idiot brother stumbled across some type of bonding activity for Azazel affiliates.” 

“Okay, first of all, I’m right here,” said Dean, a bit of defiance leaking into his voice, “and second of all, just what team are you on? And who the fuck is Azazel?” 

“My own,” she said with a smirk, “which is why I’m going to let you borrow this.” She handed him the knife that she had been using earlier. “It’s incredibly old, one-of-a-kind. It can kill demons, as you’ve seen. I think that you’re going to need it, especially after tonight. And Azazel is the demon who killed your daddy.” 

Ruby was gone again, just as quickly as she had come, leaving the brothers speechless for a moment. Dean turned to Sam, “Did that just… happen? That happened, right? Our demonic acquaintance just came in here, slaughtered those demons like a badass and then, after handing us some one-of-a-kind knife, she runs back off into the night?” Dean didn’t even want to deal with the fact that Ruby also revealed the identity of the demon they were hunting.

“I guess so,” Sam replied with a laugh, “Let’s get out of here, dude. I’m hungry.” Thankfully, neither did Sam. 

Dean nodded, and they walked back to the Impala, pointedly not talking about how close they were to dying, how they very likely would have died if Ruby hadn’t shown up when she did.

-

In the weeks following their encounter with Ruby, Sam and Dean shifted their focus to upholding their end of the bargain with Bela, while Jo and Ash remained dedicated to the cause of tracking Azazel. After a fair amount of convincing, Bela had packed up the necessities and moved into Bobby’s guest room with the intention of spending most of her time in the panic room as the deadline on her deal drew nearer. 

Sam was at a gas station, filling up the Impala’s tank and buying some snacks when a woman approached him. She looked nervous, so he tried to appear friendly but kept a hand on his concealed gun anyway. 

She took a deep breath, “This is going to sound absolutely crazy and I know that, but I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t try and tell you.” 

Sam raised his eyebrows so she continued, “I get these… I’m not sure what they are but, sometimes I have dreams of things and then they… happen. I had one of those dreams and I saw you dying and so I tracked you down because I saw your license plate and the sign on the gas station and, oh my god you must think I’m absolutely insane…” 

“Whoa, okay,” Sam said, cutting off her rant, “What’s your name?” 

She paused for a moment, confused, “It’s… I’m Ava.” 

“Hi Ava,” he said with a smile, “I’m Sam, and I don’t think you’re crazy. In fact, I get visions too.” 

She spluttered, so he continued, “Can you tell me about your vision? You said you saw me die?”

She shook her head, voice wavering a bit, “It was so awful, you were in this weird-looking room - a dungeon or something - with all of these weird symbols on the inside, and there was all this yelling and you were trying to protect this woman. You fell to the ground and it was like you were being shredded by some invisible force. But, I mean, that’s crazy, right? That can’t happen.”

Sam paled, “I need to uh - thank you for telling me. I have to go talk to someone.”

“Well,” Ava said, a little bit put off by his reaction, “Stay out of dungeons, I guess.” 

“I wish I could,” he said, a bit mournfully. He composed himself and then his phone out, “Here, give me your phone number. I promise I will call you and let you know that I’m okay.”

-

Sam grappled with whether or not he should tell Dean about what he had learned. On one hand, he knew Dean might call off their deal with Bela, and then suffer the consequences later, which Sam didn’t want. On the other hand, Ava hadn’t specified whether Dean was also at risk of dying in her vision, and Sam didn’t feel right letting Dean go into the situation without at least a warning. 

In the end, Sam’s desire not to put Dean in danger won out over his desire not to fight with Dean about protecting Bela. As predicted, it did turn into a bit of an argument. 

“Okay, well if this Ava chick says you die while defending Bela, it’s settled. You’re sitting this one out,” Dean said, not for the first time that afternoon. 

“No, Dean,” Sam replied, frustration evident on his face, “I’m not just going to abandon her because I  _ might  _ die. We ‘might die’ in like, half of the situations we find ourselves in, and we still do them. We already have the upper hand here because we have the Colt and Ruby’s knife.” 

Dean groaned, rolling his eyes in frustration, but they both knew that Sam was right. When Dean didn’t respond, Sam spoke again, “I will be careful, but there’s no way I’m letting you try and do this on your own either.” 

-

The night that the hellhounds came to collect on Bela’s deal was wrought with tension. Mary and Bobby had wanted to stay and help, but Sam and Dean had convinced them that they would just be a liability, considering that the Colt and the knife borrowed from Ruby were the only weapons that could kill the hellhounds anyway. Reluctantly, Mary had agreed to stay at her house with the company of Bobby and Karen. 

As soon as the house was empty, save for Bela, Sam and Dean, they set about lining every door and window with salt and goofer dust, hanging bundles of devil’s shoestring everywhere that they could think of. When all was said and done, they barricaded themselves in the panic room. Sam stood on one side of Bela, brandishing Ruby’s knife, and Dean stood on the other, Colt trained at the door.

“Do you really think this is going to work?” asked Bela, sounding far more confident than she looked.

Sam and Dean exchanged a look, and Dean spoke up, “I’ve never heard of anything capable of getting through that door, and with the salt and goofer dust, I don’t see how they could even get close. Bela nodded, shaking a bit. For an untold length of time, the only sounds in the room were those of heavy breathing and the ticking of the clock on the wall. The tension in the room when the clock struck midnight was palpable. 

They all jumped when they heard the unmistakable sound of a window shattering, followed by the thunderous footsteps of what must have been ten or more hellhounds running through the house. Sam and Dean shared a look, and the unspoken question as to why the salt, goofer dust and devil’s shoestring hadn’t been effective at deterring the hellhounds. Despite that, Dean turned to Bela, “It’s going to be okay, even if they get in, we’ll-” 

Dean stopped abruptly as something barreled into the door of the panic room, hitting the door hard enough that the whole foundation shook. Everything was silent for a moment, but countless sounds like the first erupted as, presumably, the rest of the hellhounds ran into the door as well. With each consecutive impact, the door caved and sagged. 

“Fuck,” Dean said, “There’s no way that’s going to hold.” 

Sam shook his head, “I guess we’re just going to have to kill them all.”

When the door finally caved, Dean began shooting indiscriminately near the ground where he presumed the hellhounds’ heads would be, their resounding whines the only confirmation that the bullets had made contact. Sam backed Bela into a corner, standing in front of her as he hacked at the air in front of him with the knife. 

Sam and Dean were doing well enough, keeping the hellhounds at bay, until they weren’t. Sam faltered when two of the invisible beasts leapt on him at once. The demon knife clattered to the ground, sliding a ways away from him. He yelled out as one bit into his leg, dragging him away from Bela. He kicked at the hellhound on him, scrambling to get back toward his previous position, but it was fruitless as another hellhound grabbed him by the arm, tearing at the flesh. He let out a yell, catching Dean’s attention. 

  
Dean’s momentary distraction allowed several more of the beasts entry into the room, and the situation went from bad to worse. Growling mingled with Bela’s shrieks as the dogs mauled her. Dean took out as many as he could, but with Sam on the ground bleeding and his knife out of reach, it was too much. When the dogs were done, the room fell silent once more. Sam crawled over to Bela’s body as if to check that she was really dead, though they both knew she was. 

“Dammit!” Dean said, accentuated by a kick to the wall, “Sammy, how bad are your wounds?” 

Sam didn’t answer, shoulders shaking as he looked down at the bloodied woman in front of him. Dean walked over, gingerly placing a hand on his shoulder, careful to avoid the visible laceration. Finally Sam spoke, in a small voice, “Why can’t I save anyone? Why do I fail every single time?” 

Dean pulled Sam into his arms, “We did what we could, it just wasn’t enough.”

Several beats of silence passed, “You need to get patched up. I don’t like the way your leg wounds are looking. Do you think you can walk?”

Sam grimaced as he tried to stand up, “If you help me up, I think so.”

Eventually, with Dean supporting some of Sam’s weight, they hauled themselves upstairs, deciding to wait in the laundry room to avoid covering the living room in blood and hellhound viscera. Sam slid to the floor while Dean picked up the phone to call Mary, simply saying “It’s over.”

Bobby, Karen and Mary rushed over as soon as they got the call, anxious to find out what had happened and how they could help the brothers deal with the outcome.

They didn’t need to ask, taking in the sight of the bloody brothers, eyes rimmed with red. Bobby and Mary headed to the panic room to clean it up, while Karen did her best to tend to the boy’s wounds. Sam’s injuries were far more serious, so she started on him, simply instructing Dean to rinse his superficial wounds at the sink and to let her know if he needed help bandaging. 

No stranger to patching up wounds, Dean finished in no time, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. He sat down near Karen and Sam, but none of them spoke. Sam grimaced as Karen dragged an alcohol wipe across the lacerations that littered his shoulder and thigh. By the time she was done stitching up the worst of Sam’s wounds, Bobby and Mary had returned to the room. 

Though the silence was heavy and oppressive, Bobby broke it, “I’m sorry this didn’t go the way you wanted it to, boys. I really thought… I have no idea how they would’ve been able to break that door down.” 

Knowing Sam wouldn’t want to talk about it, Dean spoke up, “I think it’s just… There were so many of them. We didn’t stand a chance.” 

-

The next several weeks were a bit of a blur. The feeling of inadequacy and failure threatened to drown Sam, so he dived headfirst into jobs, and Dean had no choice but to follow. It wasn’t that he minded, he just worried about Sam, though admittedly he preferred this coping mechanism to the one that Sam had relied on following Jess’ death. 

They had just finished taking down a pretty sizable vampire nest in Iowa and were getting ready for the relatively long drive home. Sam turned to Dean, “I’m kind of hungry, do you want to stop somewhere for food?” 

Dean nodded, “Yeah, I could go for some food, what are you thinking?” 

“I was thinking just burgers and fries or something, maybe some beers?” Sam said with a small smile, knowing that he was speaking Dean’s language. 

Dean pursed his lips, jokingly considering Sam’s offer, “I guess that would be alright.” 

Sam let out a loud laugh, clapping one hand over his mouth to stifle the sound. The glimpse of his brother returning to normal gave Dean a warm feeling. When they pulled into the diner parking lot, Sam intended to go in and get food to go, while Dean made a quick trip to the gas station just down the road. 

“If there’s pie, can you get me some?” Dean asked, as Sam exited the car. 

“Yeah, I’ll get it,” Sam said with a laugh, slamming the car door. 

-

The diner was eerily quiet when Dean returned. He had thought he’d see Sam waiting for him outside, but assumed the order was taking longer than expected. Feeling antsy, he patted his pocket to ensure that Ruby’s knife was where it should be, and walked into the diner. 

He was greeted by the sight of ten, maybe fifteen corpses scattered across the floor. Dean wrinkled his nose as he caught the unmistakable scent of sulfur in the air. “God fucking damn it,” he said, scouring the room to see if Sam was there. He breathed a sigh of short-lived relief that Sam wasn’t among the dead, but that did raise the question of Sam’s whereabouts. 

Despite knowing that he wouldn’t pick up, Dean repeatedly called Sam’s phone to no avail. When the panic fully set in, he headed back to the Impala, trying to regulate his breaths before calling his mom. She picked up on the first ring, “Hey baby, are you guys almost home?”

“No,” Dean took a deep breath, steadying himself, “No, mom, Sammy’s gone. I can’t find him and I don’t know what to do.” 

“What?” Mary yelled, panic evident in her voice, “What do you mean?”

Dean held his phone to his ear with his shoulder as he started up the Impala, pulling out of the parking lot, “I don’t know. I dropped him at a diner while I went to fill up the gas tank, and when I came back, the whole joint reeked of sulfur and there were a bunch of bodies lying around. No sign of Sam though. My best bet is that they kidnapped him for their weirdo demon army bullshit.” 

Mary drew a shaky breath, “Okay, what are we going to do?” 

“You should call Jo and Ash, see if they’ll drive up,” he said, pulling onto the highway, “I’m heading back to the house now.” 

-

Sam awoke with a start to someone prodding at him with their foot. He looked up to see Andy standing above him, “Andy? What the hell?”

Andy shrugged, “I was hoping you would know. Last night I was lighting up my bong. Next thing I know, I’m waking up in a field in some fucking ghost town.” 

Sam got to his feet, surveying the land around him. “Have you seen anyone else?” When Andy shook his head, Sam pulled out his phone, dismayed to find that he didn’t have service. “Any chance you have a working phone?” 

Andy pulled his phone out, sighing as he checked it, “Not even one bar.” 

The pair walked aimlessly down the street, peering into windows of the abandoned shops in the hopes of finding any sort of usable resource. Sam heard a noise, and stopped in his tracks, holding out a hand so to stop Andy as well. Pulling a knife from his pocket, he inched toward the noise. He turned the corner to see a familiar face who appeared to be on the brink of a panic attack. 

“Ava?” he said, pocketing his knife, ”Are you okay?”

Her head shot up at the sound of her name, “Sam?!” she gave him a tight hug, “What the hell is going on here?” 

Sam sighed, “As far as I can tell, it seems like the demons have gathered all of us…’special children’ for some reason. This is Andy.” 

Andy raised his hand in greeting, “So what’s your power? I can make people do things for me, and I’ve been practicing a lot. Now I can even put things into other people’s minds. This one guy at work - he’s an absolute asshole - one day he went off on me for something that wasn’t my fault, so now he gets to see his most embarrassing memories on a constant loop.” 

“I just… have visions of the future sometimes,” replied Ava shyly, “Same as Sam.” 

Noting that it was getting dark, and not wanting to be out in the open when night came, Sam searched for somewhere that they could hide out overnight. He tried the handle on a house that looked promising, and was granted access. He beckoned towards his companions, who followed him inside. “We need to see if there’s anything we can use for protection in here. Look for salt, or anything that might be made of iron.” 

The return was pretty decent - Ava had found a collection of what seemed to be iron fire pokers, Andy had found some bottled water, and Sam was able to get a few bags of old rock salt. He instructed Ava and Andy to go line every doorway and window with the salt, while he tried to remember the incantation to make holy water, grateful that the coat he’d been wearing happened to be one that he’d left a rosary in. By the time Ava and Andy had returned to the room, Sam was mostly confident that they had functional holy water. 

“Okay,” Sam started, dividing the bottles of holy water between them, “Demon 101. A little spray of this will burn a demon. It won’t kill them, but it will stop them for a bit. The only way to kill them is to exorcise them, or stab them with a demon knife - which, unfortunately, is with my brother right now. The iron will burn them too, and with  _ some  _ demons, it should make them dissipate temporarily.” 

“So, we just... sit here and wait for them to attack us?” Ava asked, furrowing her brows. 

“Well-” Sam said, eyes suddenly lighting up, “Andy, you said you could give people visions… how far do you think your range is?”

Andy thought for a moment, “I’m not sure, what are you thinking?” 

“Our best bet for getting out of here is to get a message to my brother. Do you think we could try?” 

Andy nodded, “I can’t guarantee it will work but… do you have anything of his? Something he’s touched, maybe?” 

Wordlessly, Sam handed over the knife from his pocket - something that he had borrowed from Dean just a few days earlier. Andy clasped it in his hands, closing his eyes for what felt like an eternity. Sam held his breath, only exhaling when Andy reopened his eyes. “I think they went through, I can’t be positive but…”

“Well, let’s hope they did,” Sam replied tersely, holding his hand out to take the knife back. “You guys should get some rest, I’ll take the first shift.” 

-

Dean, Bobby and Jo stood around the table in Bobby’s dining room, analyzing various maps and charts when a violent stabbing sensation pulsed through Dean’s head. He yelled out, his face contorted in pain. 

“You alright, son?” Bobby asked, turning to him in concern. 

Dean grunted, “Yeah, I’m -  _ fuck _ ,” he was cut off as another wave of pain shot through him, this time significantly stronger. Through the haze of pain, he thought he saw something. An old bell, a windmill, deserted, dusty streets. The images blurred around the edges, disappearing before he could focus on them. 

“I don’t know how,” he breathed out, “but I think Sammy just sent me a vision.” 

When Dean finished describing the images to the best of his ability, Bobby pulled out another map, searching for something, “I think he’s in Cold Oak. It’s a deserted town, not too far from here.” 

Bobby, Mary and Dean loaded the truck with anything they thought might be helpful - gallons of holy water, buckets of salt, both Ruby’s knife and the Colt. Ash and Jo stayed behind, searching for any other trails they could find in case they had interpreted Dean’s vision incorrectly. 

Dawn was just breaking as Bobby pulled the truck up to a blocked off portion of the road, “Well, looks like this is as close as we can get,” he grumbled. Everybody climbed out of the truck, and Mary unfolded a map on the hood of the truck. 

“It looks like it’s about ten miles that way,” she said,pointing towards a field adjacent to the road. “It’s a damn shame there’s not a road that can get us any closer.” 

-

Sam didn’t know how long he’d been asleep when Ava, whose turn it had been to look out for demons, hissed his name. When he made eye contact with her, she gestured toward the porch. He got to his feet and snuck to the door as quietly as he could, brandishing an iron fire poker in one hand, and a bottle of holy water in the other. 

Sam flung open the door, spraying the man in the face with holy water. He was about to take a swing with the fire poker, but hesitated because the holy water hadn’t had an effect. “Wait, are you human?”

The man spluttered, wiping water off his face, “Yeah, my name is Jake. I… woke up here yesterday and have no idea what the fuck is going on, other than the fact that the girl I met earlier in the day got ripped to shreds by some kind of monsters or something.” 

Sam lowered the fire poker, extending a hand towards the man, “I’m Sam Winchester, I’m here with Ava and Andy. We also woke up here with no idea how we got here.” 

They quickly integrated him into their group, not thinking much of it when he offered to take a lookout shift so that the rest of them could enjoy another hour or two of sleep. Because his turn sleeping had been interrupted by Ava, Sam was glad to get back to it, knowing he would need to be rested for whatever Azazel had planned. Accustomed to fitful sleep and needing to be ready at a moment’s notice, Sam dozed off with a tight grip on the fire poker. 

This time when Sam’s sleep was disrupted, it was because of a sickening crunch, followed by a shriek. He’s stomach turned, as he saw that Andy had been disemboweled in his sleep. His eyes flicked to a sobbing Ava just as she was ripped apart by two Acheri demons. He swung his fire poker through them, causing them to disappear before they could get to him. 

“Jake, what the fuck happened?” he asked, completely shocked. 

“I don’t know…” Jake said, eyes flicking back and forth, “I just went to go to the bathroom, I didn’t think...I don’t know how this happened.” 

It was then that Sam noticed that the heavy lines of salt that had been in front of the door and that had lined the windows had been disrupted. Before Sam could verbalize it, Jake noticed that he had been caught. His lips turned up into a smirk. 

“I’ve never been a particularly good actor,” he explained, “But Azazel says I’ll make a great leader for the army. I just have to be the one to make it out of here alive. There can only be one of us, you understand, don’t you?” 

Sam glared, “I’m not going to kill you,” he took a breath, “But I’m not going to let you kill me, there’s a way out of this. We have a choice.” 

“There’s no choice,” Jake said with a laugh, “Come outside with me for a second, I have something to show you.” 

Sam scoffed, “Yeah, you first. I’m not letting you out of my sight.” 

Jake nodded and walked out the front door, Sam just a few footsteps behind him, shielding his eyes a bit against the morning light. “I didn’t get here recently,” Jake said, “I’m not sure how long I’ve been here, but this is the fourth or fifth group of people that have been brought here. I’m the heavyweight champ around here. This,” he said, gesturing to the land around them, “Is my turf. Once I realized what I had to do, and actually started doing it, my powers have developed.”

Realization dawned on Sam, “You controlled those Acheri demons, didn’t you?” 

Jake laughed, “I did, and I’m not going to let anyone stand in my way. I’ve heard a lot about you, Sam Winchester and I’ve got to say, I’m not particularly impressed. 

When Sam didn’t respond, Jake seized the opportunity. He launched himself at Sam, who stumbled back, slightly surprised at the impact. “I should’ve mentioned, my power is super strength,” Jake said with a laugh. 

By a twist of fate, Sam caught the side of Jake’s head with the fire poker, which rendered him totally unconscious. He briefly considered bashing his head all the way in with the poker in self defense, but his stomach churned at the thought of murdering a human, even a human who was ready to kill him mere minutes ago. 

Before Sam could contemplate further, his eyes registered movement across the field. He walked closer, and eventually could make out the familiar faces of his mom, brother and Bobby. He broke into a run in an attempt to get to them, but stopped in confusion when they all started yelling at the same time. Before he could discern exactly what they were saying, a white-hot pain shot through his spine. He knew that Jake had done it, but couldn’t make his body turn to be sure. He fell to his knees, struggling to breathe. He noted idly that his mother and Dean were almost by his side now, but wondered where Bobby was running off to. 

His vision blurred, but he noted that his mother was there now, holding his head and whispering to him, telling him that it would be okay, while Dean knelt beside her, holding one of Sam’s hands. He blinked a few times, unable to register what they were saying to him any longer. He tried to smile at them - to let them know it was okay, that he was at peace with dying and that he was grateful that they would be with him in his last moments - but he wasn’t sure that he could make his facial muscles work with his brain anymore. 

Suddenly, everything went silent, save for a gravelly voice in his ear. “Sammy. I’ve had plans for you for a very long time. You didn’t really think you’d be getting into Heaven, did you? I’d always hoped it would be you, there was never a chance of you getting out of this.” Sam wasn’t conscious enough to know if he was hallucinating or not, but he could’ve sworn he saw a flash of yellow eyes as he closed his own eyes for the last time. 

  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Castiel is introduced in this chapter!

Dean wasn’t entirely sure how long he’d been on the cold, muddy grass after seeing Sam die in their mother’s arms as Bobby tried to chase down and get the man who had killed him. It could’ve been minutes, it could’ve been hours. All Dean knew was that he had finally figured out that the horrible, tortured sobs he had been hearing were coming out of his own mouth. Numbly, he noted that there was a hand on his shoulder, and through tears he saw that Bobby had joined him, kneeling on the ground. Mary sat feet away, her baby’s head in her lap. She petted his hair, whispering to him as her tears dripped onto his face. 

In the end, it was Mary who pulled herself off the ground, stumbling over to her other son, “Dean, baby, we have to get him out of here. You have to get up, we can’t leave him here.” 

Dean nodded numbly, struggling to his feet. Dean, Bobby and Mary were able to fit Sam’s body into the bed of the truck. There was an unspoken agreement that they wouldn’t be burning his body. None of them could handle the idea that he wouldn’t be able to come back. They buried him nearby, saddened that they couldn’t take him all the way back to Sioux Falls, but knowing it would be impossible to drive that distance with an unprotected corpse.

They took note of the coordinates, vowing to return in the future to visit his gravesite so that they could, at the very least, give him a proper grave marker. When the grave was filled, they piled back into Bobby’s truck, where the only sounds to be heard were the rumble of tires on badly-paved roads, and the occasional sniffle as the events of the night hit one of them or the other.

-

In the weeks and months following Sam’s death, Dean and Mary threw themselves into work so they weren’t forced to relive the last moments of Sam’s life. With Ruby’s help, they had produced an arsenal of functional bullets for the Colt. Physically, they were ready to fight Azazel, but emotional readiness was a different question. 

While Mary and Dean had gotten used to the unnatural emptiness of their house when Sam was at college, they relied on the comfort of knowing he was just a few hours’ drive away, and that on any given weekend, he was fairly likely to show up to spend time with them. That emptiness had absolutely nothing on the oppressive dread that filled the house in the wake of Sam’s death. 

Mary and Dean often sat huddled together on the couch without speaking. Both knew they needed comfort, and knew that neither had the words to say, the words to take away a pain so profound. Sometimes, in these moments together, one or both of them would cry, but most of these moments passed in total contemplative silence. 

Their friends tried to give them the proper time and space to grieve, but often stopped by the house, dropping off a meal or offering some kind of information on the search for Azazel. On one of these visits, Mary was surprised to see Jo waiting outside the door. Mary smiled, learning forward to embrace the young hunter, “Hi, honey! It’s been a while, how are you doing?”

“Hey Mary,” Jo said, grinning, “I’m doing great, are you holding up okay? I think I might have some good news for you.” 

“Oh!” Mary exclaimed in surprise, “Let me get Dean and we can talk. Is there anything I can get you?” 

“I’m okay,” replied, Jo, sitting down at the kitchen table. She opened up her bag, pulling out a manilla folder and her laptop. 

“Dean!” Mary called, eyeing the folder on the table, “Come down here!” 

There was a crash, and a hissed “fuck”, but before long Dean trudged down the stairs and into the kitchen. His eyes lit up a bit when he saw Jo sitting at the table. Before he could say anything, she jumped up, engulfing him in a crushing hug. He closed his eyes, squeezing her tightly to him, “It’s good to see you, Jo.” 

She released him, and sat back down at the table. She typed furiously at her laptop for a moment while Dean pulled out the chair across from her. “I’m here,” she began, still typing, “because Ash and I know where Azazel is going to be.” 

Dean and Mary exchanged a look, and then Mary turned to Jo, “You’re absolutely positive?” 

Jo nodded, biting her lip, “I can show you the algorithm if you want, but essentially there’s an area in Wyoming where … it’s a giant devil’s trap and we think that in the center, there’s a gate to Hell. We know a full-blooded demon can’t get inside… but one of the demon-blood kids like Sam could, and I don’t think Azazel will be too far behind.” 

Dean flinched at the mention of Sam, but quickly composed himself, “When do we leave?”

“I’m going to call Bobby, and we can make a plan,” said Mary, “Jo, are you coming with us?” 

Jo nodded, “Of course.”

Mary left the room to call Bobby, leaving Dean and Jo to talk, an opportunity that Jo leapt on. “How are you really doing, Dean? Are you sleeping? Eating? How much have you been drinking?”

Dean looked down, smiling sadly, “It’s been real tough. I just feel like I failed him. He’s my little brother,” he said, voice catching a bit, “It was my job to protect him and I failed. So, no, I’m not doing well but I’m doing my damn best because I know it’s what he’d want.” 

-

In the end, Bobby drove one car, with their friends Jody and Donna, while Mary drove the car containing Dean and Jo. They all hid in the cemetery, matching looks of grim determination across their faces. They planned to come out in waves, so that they could maintain an edge with the element of surprise. 

Fortunately for everyone in attendance, they didn’t have to wait long for the action to start. Jake, the demon-blood kid who had killed Sam, approached the gate, chanting what was obviously something demonic in nature. The first wave, Jo, Dean and Bobby stormed him, guns aimed for the kill shot. He smirked, flinging each of them at least 10 feet back with a sweeping arm gesture. 

Laughing, Jake approached Dean, “Your brother is dead, why are you even bothering with this? The end is inevitable and you’re choosing the wrong side.” 

It was Dean’s turn to laugh, “You’re one stupid son of a bitch if you think Yellow-Eyes is going to keep you around a second longer than necessary.” 

Jake lunged toward him, knife in hand as if to kill him in nearly the same way as Sam. He was dead before he even got close, as gunshots from multiple directions rained down on him as if his friends and family were saying “You already took one of our boys, we won’t let you have this one”.

As predicted, Azazel wasn’t far behind Jake. He sauntered into the graveyard, yellow eyes scanning between headstones and statues for any potential threats. He smirked, approaching Mary. “Oh, Mary. It must weigh so heavily on you that both your husband and your son are rotting in Hell and it’s all your fault. If you hadn’t been so selfish all those years ago…” he nonchalantly examined his fingernails and tsked, “Things would look so different now, wouldn’t they?”

Mary stared him down, eyes narrowed. She tried to reach for the Colt, but found herself unable to move under the demon’s influence. 

Noticing the panic in her eyes, Dean set out to distract the demon, “Hey asshole! You already got my brother, don’t you want the matching set?” 

Taking the bait, Azazel’s eyes flashed and he walked over to where Dean was still crumpled against a gravestone from Jake’s throw, “You were never part of the plan. Your brother was destined for greatness, destined to lead armies…” he let out a dry laugh, “You… you’re just a sad, faceless pawn in this game. But, I will take pleasure in breaking you, ripping you limb from limb. I’m sure Sammy boy will love to hear about how I peeled your skin from muscle, how you screamed and cried like the pathetic little bitch you’ve always been.” 

At that, Azazel shifted his eyes and Dean flew several feet, colliding with the side of a crypt with a resounding thud. He didn’t move, didn’t even make a sound. 

Chaos broke out, gunshots and shouting from more directions than Azazel could keep track of. While none of the shots damaged him, his shock was evident. Mary seized the moment of his confusion, aimed and cocked the Colt. She screamed “This is for my boys, you fucking asshole,” and pulled the trigger. Miraculously, the shot hit home and Azazel twitched and flashed before them, eventually crumpling on the ground. 

Everyone rushed for the unconscious Dean at once, trying their best to rouse him, to no avail. “Well, he’s still breathing,” said Jody, attempting to reassure the increasingly disquieted crowd, “but we do need to get him to a hospital. Now.” 

-

Sam choked and gagged, trying and trying again to get a breath of clean air. He spat dirt from his mouth, heaving as he blinked against the near blinding light. He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, surveying the land around him. He raised his eyebrows, noticing that every tree in the area had fallen, as if a bomb had gone off and cleared everything in the surrounding area out, and he had been the epicenter. He stretched, trying to ease the ache in his arms from digging himself out of what appeared to be his own grave. 

Sam made his way to the nearest road and picked a direction to walk in, assuming that he would eventually run into civilization no matter which way he followed it. Just when he was considering stopping to give his legs and lungs a break, he saw a telltale marker of a convenience store: a sign that offered a mediocre deal on beef jerky and Pepsi. 

As he approached the door, he realized that the store was deserted, but given the lack of options he entered anyway, in the hopes that he would find water and something edible. He sighed in relief, seeing a mostly-stocked refrigerator with water bottles and assorted sodas inside. He opened one of the water bottles, draining it immediately. He shoved several more water bottles into the plastic grocery bag he had grabbed from the checkout counter. 

Sam moved on, perusing the packaged snacks that were available. He grabbed several packages of nuts, and then some sour candy for good measure. He was about to see what kinds of toiletry items were available, when he was startled by a man that he hadn’t noticed before, standing in the corner. 

“Oh uh - I, I’m sorry. I was going to pay for these, I just -” Sam stuttered out, tripping over his words. 

The man narrowed his eyes, turning his head to the side in a way that made Sam think, offhandedly, of a dog. “Samuel Winchester…” the man said, “Whether or not you pay for those items is none of my concern.”

Sam backed away slowly, eyes darting back and forth to see if anything within reach could be used as a weapon, “Who the hell are you?

“My name is Castiel,” the man said, an air of reverence about him, “I am an angel of the Lord. I’m the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition.”

“What?!” Sam said, a mixture of amazement and confusion, “Why - why would you do that?” 

The man, Castiel, smiled, ”It was never the will of Heaven for you to die, Samuel. Heaven has plans for you, and my orders were to rescue you. You don’t belong in Hell, for right now, you belong on Earth.”

Sam shook his head, trying to process the overload of information he had just received, “Uh… okay. Well before I get involved with someone else’s plan, I’m going to brush my teeth and see how much of a shower I can take with a water bottle, and _then_ I’ll deal with…” he sighed, “that.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Castiel said, snapping his fingers, “You’re clean now.” 

Sam looked down at himself, now completely free of dirt and grime. He ran his tongue over his teeth, surprised to find that his mouth was now completely free of dirt, “Thanks. Do you have any idea of how I can find my mom and my brother?” 

Castiel shook his head, almost sadly, “I don’t know their location right now, but if you can get ahold of them, I can transport us both there.” 

Sam smiled slightly, still a bit wary of his new acquaintance. He walked over to the checkout desk, grateful when he found a functional landline. His call to Dean’s first cell phone didn’t go through so he checked the second, and then the third, all of which failed. He tried his mom, he tried Bobby, and then kicked himself for not having more phone numbers memorized. 

Castiel watched him intently, “Why aren’t your friends answering you?” 

Frustrated, Sam slammed the phone down, “I don’t know, dammit.” 

Unable to get an answer on the phone, he had Castiel transport him, first to his mom’s house in Sioux Falls. Finding the house empty, he went to the kitchen and got the list of names and phone numbers he knew resided on the refrigerator. The relief he felt when Ellen picked up the phone was only paralleled by that which he felt upon taking his first breath of air after escaping Hell. 

“Ellen! Hi! I know this is surprising, but uh, it’s me, Sam,” he blurted out, flinching when Ellen yelled and swore into the receiver. 

“What the hell are you? Sam is dead, he’s been dead for 4 months. That poor family has been through enough, and _now_ of all times…” 

“Ellen, it’s me, I swear. An angel pulled me out of Hell, he said my time on Earth wasn’t over yet.” he turned to Castiel, “Tell her Castiel, I’m human.” 

Confused, Castiel spoke towards the receiver, “It’s true. Samuel is human. It was the will of Heaven that he be released.” 

Not giving her a chance to refute that, Sam spoke into the receiver again, “Where is everybody? I couldn’t get ahold of Dean, or my mom, or Bobby… and I don’t have my cell phone so I didn’t have any other phone numbers.” 

“Alright, so an angel pulled you out of Hell,” Ellen agreed. “Why don’t you tell me what Jo made you wear for her sixth birthday party?”

“Ellen can we please just,” Sam sighed and shook his head. “A glittery pink tiara and tutu while everyone else got to be Ninja Turtles.” That seemed to satisfy her that it was indeed Sam on the phone.

Ellen sighed, “It’s bad, Sam. Real bad. They’re in Wisconsin, Jo went with your mom, and Dean. Bobby, Donna and Jody were there too. They found Azazel, and your mom… she killed him -”

“Well that’s great!” Sam said, breaking out into a smile before Ellen interrupted him.

“Sam, Dean is hurt real bad, they don’t know if he’s going to pull through.”

Sam’s heartbeat faltered and he felt his legs go weak, “Where are they? What’s the address?” 

-

Mary gritted her teeth, already fed up with the incessant beeping and bustling of the hospital. Her eyes flicked to her son’s face, nearly unrecognizable with tubes in his nose and throat, bandages covering almost everything but his eyes. She squeezed his hand comforted by the rise and fall of his chest, even though she knew he was being sustained by machines. 

Bobby stood at the window, staring outside without really seeing. He had been the one to text updates to the others, as the hospital staff had only allowed two people to remain in Dean’s room. 

Dean’s prognosis didn’t look good. The doctors had informed Mary and Bobby that the chances of Dean waking up were slim, and that even if he did, he would have permanent brain damage. 

Jo stood at the doorway, clearing her throat gently before speaking, “I don’t think either of you have gotten any sleep over the past two days. Why don’t you go back to the hotel, take a shower, maybe eat something and then get a few hours of sleep?” 

Mary looked at Dean for a moment, considering, but she shook her head. “I can’t leave him. Bobby, you should go though. Jo will keep me company. Donna and Jody should get some rest too.” 

Bobby hesitated, but nodded slowly, “You call me if you need anything, or if there’s a change, alright?” 

Jo nodded, “I will. We’ll see you soon.” 

Bobby walked over and squeezed Mary’s shoulder for a moment, and then left without another word. Mary and Jo sat in companionable silence until Jo’s phone let out a loud chime. Both of them jumped and Jo muttered an apology as she left the room to take the phone call, which she realized was from her mom. Mary closed her eyes for a few moments, nearly allowing exhaustion to overtake her. 

Jo returned to the room moments later, a look of utter perplexity on her face, “Mary…” she started, waiting until Mary’s eyes were open, “I don’t know how to tell you this but… Sam is on his way.”

Mary sat there, frozen in shock, “Sam is … he’s dead. What are you talking about?” 

Jo shook her head, “I don’t understand but my mom said that he would explain when he gets here. She said an angel pulled him outta hell and that they’re on their way right now.”

-

Knowing only the address to the hospital, but not Dean’s room number, Sam and Castiel were forced to speak to the reception desk to inquire about where Dean was. Once they had the information, Sam turned to Castiel, “My family is already going to be … seeing me is already going to be a lot, and they’re probably going to come at me with salt, holy water, and silver as it is. You should… wait here. I think seeing you would be too much for them right now.” 

Castiel nodded, unaccustomed to human traditions and rituals, but content to do as he was told when he was unsure of how to proceed. Sam turned and gave him an awkward pat on the shoulder before heading down the hall to the room Dean was in. He was surprised to see his mother and Jo staring at him as if in tense anticipation. 

“Uh….” he said, completely unsure of how to proceed, “hi?” 

It was only a second before he was assaulted with holy water and salt, then a cold silver knife was pressed to his bare arm. Once it was clear that he was neither ghost, nor demon, nor shapeshifter, both women flung themselves into his arms, still in disbelief.

“Ellen called but I wasn’t - I couldn’t…” Mary stuttered out, struggling with her words, “How did this happen?” 

Sam shook his head, “I still don’t know. This angel, Castiel, pulled me out of Hell. He said something about Heaven having a plan for me, and how I needed to be alive to finish my mission on Earth.” 

When Mary and Jo seemed satisfied with his answer, he turned to Dean, “How’s he doing? Have the doctors said anything?”

Words failed Mary, so Jo spoke up, “It’s not looking good, Sam. It’s really not likely that he’s going to wake up, and if he does… they’re just not sure.” 

He looked over at his mother, who had been through so much, lost her parents, then her husband, and then nearly both of her children. He grabbed her hand, squeezing it while he thought. 

“Wait,” he said, remembering how Castiel had been able to patch him up after he had crawled out of the grave, “I think maybe…”

Jo and Mary stared at him as he stood there silently, startled when they heard a fluttering sound behind them. “You prayed to me?” said a gruff voice, causing them all to turn, “Why? I was just down the hall.” 

Sam breathed a laugh, “I wanted to see if it would work. Can you… you can heal him, right?” 

Castiel nodded, walking over to Dean’s body. He held his hands above Dean’s head, yellow light emanating from his palms as the various cuts and bruises on Dean’s body slowly vanished. Sam, Mary and Jo stood back nervously, half-convinced that it wouldn’t work. Dean awoke with a choke, gagging against the trach tube. Castiel removed it gingerly, helping Dean sit up with a hand on his shoulder. 

Dean eyed Castiel for a moment, looking the angel up and down, and then smirked, “Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?” 

Castiel narrowed his eyes, tilting his head, “I think you’re mistaken, it was my brother Lucifer who fell. I’m Castiel.” 

Seeing the confusion in Dean’s eyes, Sam stepped closer, “Dean-” he started, but was cut off when Dean turned to see him for the first time. 

“Oh fuck! Am I dead? Shit! Am I in _Hell_?” Dean said, panic in his voice escalating. 

“No, no, you’re fine. Castiel is an angel, he pulled me out of Hell and then I had him heal you. Everything is okay now.” Sam said, rushing to get all of the words out before Dean could spiral. 

“Sammy?” Dean looked over at his younger brother, lips trembling. “You’re - you’re really here?” 

“Yeah, Dean, I’m here. Can’t get rid of me that easily,” Sam said, and closed the distance between them, the two finally embracing after too many months apart. 

-

Bobby wasn’t as easily convinced about benevolent resurrection. He had already been suspicious when Jo had called him from the car, telling him that she and Mary were heading back to the motel, Dean in tow. They had agreed that telling him about Sam and Castiel was something better done in person. 

Jo, Mary and Dean had gone to the motel room, telling Sam and Castiel to wait in the car so that the situation could be explained in full before Bobby was actually face-to-face with the two of them. 

“Samuel-” Castiel started to ask, before he was cut off. 

“Nobody calls me that. You can call me Sam.” 

“Okay, Sam, why did your brother think I was Lucifer?” Castiel asked, squinting his eyes.

Sam let out a loud laugh and then took a moment to compose himself, “He didn’t… think you were Lucifer. That thing he said was just a pickup line.”

Not looking any less confused, Castiel spoke again, “What does that mean?” 

“It means that uh…” Sam huffed a laugh, “It means he thinks you’re attractive.” 

“Oh,” Castiel said, seemingly satisfied with that answer, “okay.” 

Looking out the window, Sam saw Dean approaching, so he opened the door and stepped out. Dean shook his head laughing a little, “I can’t guarantee that you won’t get a face full of holy water, but they’re ready to see you now.” 

Before Sam could reply, Castiel spoke, “I am needed back in Heaven. You know how to reach me if you need something,” and then, before their eyes, he disappeared. 

“Good talk,” Dean said to the empty space where Castiel had stood just a moment earlier.

-

Sam smiled awkwardly as he entered the motel room. Donna and Jody sat together on one of the beds, and Jo stood in the far corner, speaking on the phone with someone who was presumably her mother or Ash. Before he could take a step further into the room, he had holy water and salt in his eyes and nose.

Mary smiled shyly as he spluttered, “I tried to stop him…” 

Bobby stood by the door, a silver knife still raised in the air. His brows furrowed, “Is it really you, son?” 

“It’s really him, Bobby,” said Dean, stepping forward to take the knife from Bobby’s hand, “He has been thoroughly tested.” 

Tears welled in Bobby’s eyes as he surged forward, engulfing Sam in a suffocating hug, which prompted Donna and Jody to stand up for their turns as well. Before long, everyone was seated, on beds and at the small table situated in the corner of the room, looking at Sam eagerly for further information on the angel Castiel. 

Sam launched into the whole story, explaining how he had awoken underground and how, after digging himself out, he had met Castiel in an abandoned convenience store, “I didn’t have my cell phone, and so after I couldn’t get ahold of any of you,” he indicated towards Dean, Mary and Bobby, “and I didn’t have anyone else’s number, I had Castiel take me back to the house so I could contact anyone else. I finally got ahold of Ellen, who pointed me in the right direction.” 

“So this Castiel, he said that he was the one who pulled you out of Hell? Did he say why?” asked Bobby, brows furrowed.

Sam shook his head, “Not really. He just said that it wasn’t the will of Heaven for me to be in Hell, and that I was needed on Earth.” 

“And then when I went to get Sam from the car, he left, said something about how they need him in Heaven, but that we can pray to him if we need him,” Dean said, glancing out the window as if to check if the angel really was gone. 

-

_Sam dropped the knife, feeling the exhaustion deep in his bones. It felt like he hadn’t stopped in years. He fell to his knees as the soul in front of him was dragged out, to suffer torment under someone else, Sam was sure._

_He wasn’t sure how long he had been on the floor when footsteps echoed behind him, the sound of heels - something he hadn’t heard in almost forty years._

_Sam turned to see who was approaching him, jaw dropping when he saw that it was Bela. “Hello Sam.”_

_“Bela,” Sam stood slowly, turning his entire body to face her as he did so. “What are you doing here?”_

_“You know how I got here, Sam, you were there. You saw the Hellhounds tear my body to pieces,” Bela said with a single arched brow._

_“That’s not what I meant - how are you here, with me, right now?” Sam asked. “The last time I saw you…”_

_“Well, it seems you’re not the only one who doesn’t have the willpower to survive this place. I picked up the knife not long after you did,” Bela admitted. “But, my life has been much better for it. I get breaks, time off, I’m not covered in blood and human entrails anymore.”_

_“Bela,” Sam said quietly. “You don’t have to pretend with me.”_

_“The problem with that is if I stop pretending, I won’t be able to again,” Bela took a deep breath. “How did you end up in Hell? Surely the great Sam Winchester didn’t make a demon deal?”_

_“No, no, when I was a kid, this demon did some fucked up stuff - he fed me and a bunch of other babies demon blood - and he came to collect recently. One of the others killed me and Azazel dragged my soul down here,” Sam explained. “I never stood a chance of going anywhere else. He wants me to lead his demon army and I suppose this is step one.”_

_“That’s quite the ordeal,” Bela said, swallowing heavily. “Almost makes me feel like my reasons aren’t good enough.” Sam frowned at that._

_“Why did you make a deal?” He asked. Bela was silent for a long moment, looking down at her feet._

_“It was my father,” she whispered. “He...he would come into my room at night. It started when I was 9. My mother knew, she just drank to pretend she didn’t. I made the deal when I was 14.” Bela wiped a tear from her cheek and finally looked back up at Sam’s meeting his eyes._

_“Bela…” Sam started, not sure what he wanted to say. Any apologies would be worthless. “You deserve more than rotting in Hell. That’s nicer than your parents deserve and I’m sure they’re down here somewhere, but this is not where you should be.”_

_“Thank you for that, Sam, but there’s nothing to be done about it now, is there? We’re both stuck here for eternity, we might as well try and make it as bearable as possible.”_

_“We could stick together? As much as possible, I mean. Hell is...well, it’s Hell but maybe having someone will make it…” Sam trailed off, not sure how to describe Hell as anything but exactly that._

_“I know what you mean,” Bela smiled just a little, and to Sam, who had spent the last 30 years in this fucked up place, it was the brightest thing he had ever seen. “And I would like that.”_

-

A few weeks after Sam’s angelic resurrection, they hadn’t heard anything else from Castiel - or any other angels for that matter. With Azazel dead and no threat looming on the horizon, the Winchesters had gotten back into their daily routine as much as possible. They were back home, Sam staying until he felt ready to start a fresh semester at college, Dean back working with Bobby at the shop, and Mary fulfilling orders from her online shop and to send in to local stores. 

Things were calm for the first time in over a year.

Which meant that, of course, everything was going to fall to shit. 

It started when Bobby received a worrying call from a hunter - Olivia - that was cut short. He pulled Dean along with him to go check on her only to find her slaughtered in her home - all locks engaged, protection sigils and wards untouched. There were no clues to how she met her death. They cleaned up her place, gave her a hunter's funeral, and made their way back to Sioux Falls. 

“What could have done this Bobby?” Dean asked, shaking his head slightly. “No EMF, no sulfur, no ectoplasm. The salt lines were intact, all the warding...how does something get past all of that and leave no trace?” 

“I have no clue, son,” Bobby sighed. “We’ll need to do some research when we get home. Could be something we haven’t met before.” 

“Between you, me and Sam, and Mom?” Dean raised his eyebrows. “That’s not likely.” 

“But not impossible. Now get us home so we can actually figure out what we’re dealing with,” Bobby said. Dean just nodded and pressed the pedal down a bit harder, the engine roaring as the speedometer climbed. 

-

When Dean and Bobby arrived home, they wasted no time in cracking open the books, trying to find anything close to what they had witnessed. Unfortunately nothing was even remotely similar. Several other hunters met the same fate as Olivia which spurred them on more but after a week, they were still coming up with nothing. 

Until Bobby walked out of his bedroom to see the ghosts of twin girls that he wasn’t able to save years ago when he first began hunting. 

“Dean!” Bobby yelled down the stairs, not taking his eyes off the girls. A moment later Dean had met Bobby on the landing, freezing when he saw the ghosts. 

“Bobby? Who are they?” he asked, wishing he had thought to grab anything when he heard Bobby’s panicked yell. 

“Alice and Alicia,” Bobby said quietly. “I - it was the first year I was hunting, a shapeshifter. I didn’t find them in time.” 

“How are they here?” Dean asked. “They died, what, twenty years ago?” 

“Just about,” Bobby nodded, still not daring to move his eyes off the girls. “We need to-”

“Why didn’t you save us, Bobby?” the girls said in unison. “You walked right past us, Bobby.” 

“Bobby, we have to move,” Dean said, grabbing the older man’s forearm. “Now!” The pair of them took off down the stairs just as the girls rushed forward. Dean snatched up one of the fire pokers and turned, swinging it through the girls, causing them to dissipate into the air. “We don’t have much time, we have to figure out what’s going on.” 

“Dean, Bobby!” Mary shouted as she ran into the house, her gun pulled and trained on the door. “Something is going on.” 

“Yeah we got that, who did you see?” Dean asked, stepping closer to his mom. Mary glanced at him and swallowed heavily. 

“His name was Cecil Brown, I was hunting a vampire about fifteen years ago. I was too late to save him,” she answered. “But I burned his body, made sure there was no way he could stick around. How is he back?” 

“I don’t know, but Bobby just got the same thing, a couple of kids he didn’t save. Why are these people coming back? How are they coming back?” 

“Call your brother, he’s at the university library,” Mary ordered. “Tell him what’s happening.” Dean nodded and handed her the iron poker before pulling his phone from his pocket and calling Sam.

“What’s up?” Sam asked.

“It’s people that they couldn’t save,” Dean said without pause. “That’s who’s been killing the hunters, at least that’s what it seems like. Mom and Bobby have both seen ghosts of people they didn’t save.” 

“That changes things,” Sam said. “Give me five minutes, I think I know what we’re dealing with.” WIth that, Sam hung up. Dean huffed a bit, but relayed what Sam had told him to Bobby and Mary. 

“So we just have to keep safe until then,” Bobby said. “I need to call Karen, tell her not to come home yet.” Dean nodded and stepped closer to Mary, glancing around warily. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t seen anyone yet - there were a number of people he had failed to save. 

-

After he hung up the phone, Sam grabbed the Bible that he had open near him on the library table and began searching for a specific passage. Before he could find it, however, he felt a gust of wind and when he looked up Bela was standing in front of him. She looked like she did the last time he saw her alive - before the Hellhounds had drug her down. 

“Bela?” Sam said quietly, voice cracking. “How - “

“You promised you’d save me, Sam,” Bela said, tilting her head. “We made a deal. And you broke it.” 

“I didn’t mean to,” Sam said a bit desperately. He knew why he was seeing Bela, and he knew he needed to get back to Dean but...he couldn’t bear to look away from her. “We tried everything we could think of.” 

“And it wasn’t enough,” Bela said sharply, her eyes hardening and muscles tensing. “I still died, I still got drug down to Hell and Sam, you know exactly how terrible it was. How much it hurt, how much it tore us apart. Tore and ripped and chewed until we broke.” 

“Bela,” Sam tried again, but she interrupted him again. 

“We both broke down there, Sam. But you got saved. You had an angel pull you out of Hell but where am I?” She took a few steps forward, so they were only a few feet apart now. “I’m still stuck down there. Every day I remember how it feels to have the flesh ripped from my body while I do the same to some other poor soul. I remember how it feels to have every single bone broken at once, only to heal and have to go through it all again.” 

“I remember every single minute, Bela,” Sam whispered, closing the distance between them so they were practically standing chest to chest. “I’m sorry - I’m sorry I couldn’t save you too. If I had known what was happening, where I was going when the angels grabbed me, I would have brought you with me.” 

“It’s too late for that, isn’t it?” Bela smiled tightly up at him. “I’m still stuck there and you’re up here. Forgotten about me already?” 

“Of course not, Bela, I could never forget you,” Sam glanced down and reached forward cautiously, his hand gingerly taking Bela’s. He knew this was a terrible idea - the thing standing in front of him wasn’t really Bela and could kill him at any moment. “I promise I will get you out of there, if it’s the last thing I do. You don’t belong down there.” 

“That’s a nice thought Sam, but you won’t be alive long enough to do anything about it,” before Sam could respond, Bela’s hand was around his throat, squeezing until he couldn’t breathe. Sam gripped her wrist with both hands and pulled as hard as he could but the supernatural strength of a ghost was hard to fight. He stumbled back, to the table, and fumbled for his bag. Eventually he found the salted-holy water filled flask and unscrewed the cap, spraying it over Bela. She disappeared and Sam gasped in relief as air filled his lungs once more. 

He grabbed the Bible and flipped through it as he called Dean back. “It’s from the Book of Revelations, in the Bible!” he said as the call connected. “It’s a sign of the apocalypse!” 

“So how do we fix it?” Dean asked, though Sam could hear pages flipping in the background. 

“This,” Bobby said, dropping a book nearby. “A spell to banish restless souls. The ingredients are upstairs.” 

“Shit, okay, Sam, are you okay? Have you seen anything?” 

“Yeah,” Sam said. “Bela, she...she showed up.” 

“Bela?” Dean sounded surprised. “Fuck, okay, just sit tight, make sure you’re safe. We’re gonna do this spell and fix everything, okay?” 

“Okay,” Sam agreed, backing into the corner of his isolated table, flask clutched in his hand. Dean hung up - likely to help Bobby and Mary collect the necessary ingredients. Only a few minutes later, Bela flickered back to life in front of him. 

“Didn’t think it would be that easy, did you, Sam?” she asked, this time her smile wicked. “Not after what I’ve been through.” 

“Bela please,” Sam’s lip trembled. “I wanted to save you, I did. I tried everything, but Lilith-”

“I don’t give a damn about Lilith!” Bela shouted suddenly, glaring at Sam with wet eyes. “You were supposed to save me! And you failed!” Just before she could reach Sam, she blew up in a burst of smoke. Sam was breathing heavily as he watched the spot where Bela stood only moments ago, and when he received a call from Dean that they completed the spell and the spirits were put to rest, he finally allowed himself to collapse onto the floor, and let out a painful, heaving sob. 

-

Later that night, after everyone else had gone to bed, Dean was still sitting on the back porch and nursing a bottle of beer. He was still unsure why he hadn’t seen a ghost - there were plenty of people that he hadn’t been able to save that he felt plenty guilty over and yet he was spared. 

“Hello Dean,” a voice sounded in front of him, startling Dean with a gasp. 

“Fuck man,” he said, looking up to see Castiel standing in front of him. “What the fuck, can’t you knock?” 

“What would be the purpose of knocking?” Castiel asked with a slight frown. 

“To announce your presence, so you don’t scare the shit out of me?” Dean suggested with a raised eyebrow. 

“That was the purpose of my greeting,” Castiel said. “I have come to check on you and your family.” 

“Check on us? So you saw what was happening and didn’t think to help?” Dean questioned, standing so that he and Castiel were on equal footing. 

“We had other things we had to focus on,” Castiel said, though Dean thought he could hear something else in his voice - maybe regret? 

“Do you know why this happened in the first place? It’s a sign of the apocalypse, right?” Castiel hesitated for a moment. 

“We’re not sure why it happened, only that demons are behind it,” he said. 

“Great,” Dean said and took a sip of his beer. “So you’ve got nothing.” He shook his head and looked up at the sky. “So that’s where Heaven is? Above us?” 

“In a sense,” Castiel agreed. “It’s a bit more complicated than that, but for simplicity, yes, it is above us.” Dean snorted at that. “You talk like that all the time?” Castiel frowned again and opened his mouth to question what Dean meant but he just raised a hand to stop him. “Don’t worry about it. It’s kinda cute.” 

“Cute?” Castiel tilted his head to look up at Dean. 

“Yeah, cute. Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable or whatever, and what I said at the hospital, after you healed me,” Dean apologized, not quite meeting Castiel’s eyes. 

“Why would it make me uncomfortable?” Castiel furrowed his brows in confusion. 

“Because I’m a guy?” Dean scoffed. “Don’t know if you know this, but that ain’t all that popular around these parts. Or anywhere, really.” 

“I am utterly indifferent to sexual orientation,” Castiel said. “And while the body that I am occupying is male, as an angel, I have no gender.” Dean blushed lightly at the implication of Castiel’s words before something clicked. 

“Body you’re occupying? Are you possessing someone?” 

“Yes, though angels must receive consent before using a human as a vessel. Jimmy was a very devout man and prayed for this,” Castiel said, looking down at himself - at Jimmy. 

“Doesn’t really make it okay, dude,” Dean said gruffly, downing the rest of his beer. “So, you’ve checked on us. We’re all alive and kicking. You got any other heavenly duties to attend to?” 

“Not currently,” Castiel said. “It has been some time since I was on Earth, things have changed, quite drastically in some cases. Though something that never wanes is the human spirit.” 

“What is that supposed to mean?” 

“It means, Dean Winchester, that in the millions of years that I have been alive, that I have been watching over the people on this planet, there are always people, always humans, that are willing to fight for the rest of humanity. And you are one of them.” Dean’s head shot up to look at the angel, mouth dropping open to respond but no words sounded. Castiel smiled. “I look forward to speaking with you more Dean, but for tonight, you should rest.” 

Before Dean could even think of anything to say, Castiel was gone with a fluttering of wings. 

-

_Sam opened his eyes slowly. While there was no sleeping in Hell, he did take the opportunity to rest whenever possible and after what he had done to the last soul - he needed it._

_“Don’t go getting melancholy on me now, Sam,” Bela’s voice sounded behind him. Sam smiled just a little - spending time with Bela was the only reprieve from the constant agony of being in Hell._

_“Hey, you get a break?” He asked, pushing himself off the ground._

_“Yes, apparently Alastair liked the way I scalped the last soul that he thought I deserved some time off,” Bela said, voice strained. “What about you?”_

_“I...I agreed to drink demon blood,” Sam said quietly, ashamedly. “To start working on my powers.”_

_“Sam,” Bela stepped closer and took his hand. “That’s not something you can come back from.”_

_“Maybe not but if I can get to a place where I’m stronger than Alastair…” Sam said, not having to complete his sentence for Bela to know what he meant._

_“That’s dangerous to talk about,” Bela hissed. “Who knows who could be listening.”_

_“It doesn’t matter,” Sam shook his head. “He can’t do anything worse to me than he’s already done. Once I’m stronger, I’ll be able to save both of us from this.”_

_“That’s a nice thought, Sam, but if there’s somewhere you never want to get your hopes up, it’s here.”_

_“Bela,” Sam said seriously and took Bela’s other hand in his. “I said it before, you deserve better than this. I don’t know what Heaven is, or if it even actually exists, but that’s where you should be. You got dealt a shitty hand but you got through it and you made something of yourself. I am going to fix this. I’m getting you out of this place.”_

_“Oh Sam,” Bela squeezed his hands. “Thank you, for saying that. I’ve never…I’ve never had someone who cares for me before. I’ve never had a-” she cut herself off abruptly to take a deep breath. “I’ve never had a friend before.”_

_“We’ll you’ve got me now,” Sam said, pulling Bela into a hug. He reveled in the actual contact and never wanted to let go. “And you’re not getting rid of me either.”_

-

A week after the rising of the witnesses, Jo called Dean to tell there was a strange case in a small town in Wyoming where nobody had died in four days - though it wasn’t that nobody was dying, people were recovering in minutes from fatal injuries. Dean promised that he and Sam would look into it. 

“Sammy!” Dean called up the stairs. “Pack your bag, we gotta get going!” 

“What’s going on?” Mary called from her office. Dean walked down the hall to stand in the open doorway, leaning against the frame. 

“That was Jo, she and Ash found something strange in this tiny ass town: no one’s dying. Haven’t for days now,” Dean explained. “What are you making?” 

“Oh, just filling some orders,” she said, gesturing to everything laid out on the table in front of her from small jars and dried herbs to charms and leather strings. “Mostly protection spells, stuff like that.” 

“You’re good with me and Sam taking this one?” Dean asked. 

“As long as you’ll be safe and look after one another,” Mary said pointedly. 

“Always,” Dean said with a smile and walked over, kissing her head. “We’re gonna head over to Bobby and Karen’s to see if they’ve heard of anything like this before heading out.” 

“Text me when you get there,” Mary reminded as he walked out of her office. “Love you!” 

“Love you too!” Dean grabbed his already packed bag from his room and threw it in the backseat of the Impala as he waited for Sam. It was only moments later when Sam joined him, dropping his bag through the open window. 

“Where are we going then?” 

“Bobby’s first, see if he’s heard anything similar,” Dean said, explaining what Jo had told him over the phone on the five minute drive to Bobby’s place. When they arrived, they didn’t see Bobby’s truck in the driveway, but Karen’s sensible sedan was parked so they still pulled in and headed inside.

“Karen?” Dean called, smiling as their dog, a stocky Rottweiler aptly named Hunter, ran in to greet the boys. “Hey bud!” he almost cooed as he scratched the dog’s head. “It’s nice to see you too!!” 

“Dean, is that you?” Karen asked as she walked out of the kitchen. “What did I do to deserve the two of you showing up like this?” 

“We’re the ones that don’t deserve you,” Dean said as he stepped forward and kissed her cheek. “We needed to ask Bobby about a case we just got, see if he’s ever heard of anything like it before.” 

“He had to go pick up a tow, he’ll be back soon if you want to wait,” Karen suggested. “I just baked a pie.” 

“How can I say no to that?” Dean said and followed Karen back into the kitchen, as if he wouldn’t stay just to spend time with her. Growing up, Karen had been like a second mother to Sam and Dean, often watching them while Mary and Bobby worked a case or helped another hunter research their own. 

“What have you been up to?” Sam asked once they were seated at the table, Karen cutting them both slices of pie and even giving them a scoop of ice cream on top - she knew her boys well. 

“Not much, stitching up anybody that comes through, as always,” Karen said fondly, setting their plates down in front of each boy. “Trying to keep Bobby from having a stress-induced heart attack.” 

“What’s he got to be stressed about?” Dean asked, mouth already full of pie and ice cream, causing Sam to roll his eyes and Karen to laugh. 

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” she admonished. “And you two, always. He worries when you go out on cases alone, especially with angels showing up and getting signs of the apocalypse.” 

“We can take care of ourselves, tell Bobby he’s got nothing to worry about,” Sam said. “Besides, Bobby’s the one that’s getting old.”

“I’ll make sure to keep that part in,” Karen said with a laugh. The three of them talked while Sam and Dean ate their pie as they waited for Bobby. “There he is,” Karen said when she heard the truck pull up and the car door slam shut. She stood from the table and headed into the living room, greeting Bobby when he came inside. Dean made a face when he heard them kiss, Sam shoving his shoulder in retaliation. 

“What are you two idjits doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be halfway to Wyoming by now?” Bobby asked as he joined them at the table. 

“Have you talked to Jo, then?” Sam asked, setting his fork on his plate.

“She called me on my way back. It’s not anything I’ve ever even heard a whisper of,” Bobby shook his head. “People surviving things they shouldn’t, no one dying? Sounds like death just...took a vacation.” 

-

At first glance, Greybull, Wyoming looked like every other small town in the midwest. A small downtown where a hodgepodge of local businesses had set up shop with branches of residential areas surrounding it. 

Sam and Dean didn’t notice the difference until they drove by the hospital which was….deserted. There were no cars in the visitors lot, no ambulances coming in or out. If they didn’t know any better, they would think the hospital was closed. 

“Should we go in? See if we can’t figure out what’s going on?” Dean suggested, driving slowly past the hospital. 

“We’ve gotta start somewhere,” Sam agreed. Dean pulled into the parking lot and grabbed a space right next to the entrance. They strolled in and Dean smiled at the nurse at the front desk. 

“Hey, my brother and I were just passing through when we noticed how...empty this place is, it’s a bit of a strange sight. You guys just that good at your job?” 

“I wish,” she said, grinning back at Dean. “No, everyone just seems to be healthy. No one’s getting sick and those that are get better. Makes our job easy, but boring.” 

“That means you won’t be tired when you get off work then,” Dean said as he leaned against the counter. Sam rolled his eyes and shoved Dean out of the way before the nurse could reply. 

“Thank you for your help,” he said politely and grabbed Dean’s arm, yanking him back to follow him outside. “After the case, remember? Focus until we kill whatevers doing this, and then you can get laid all you want.” 

“Yeah yeah, Sammy, I remember,” Dean grumbled, pulling his keys from his pocket. “Work then play.” They drove closer to the center of town, finding a small inn to rent a room in. They got set up pretty quickly, dropping their bags onto their respective beds. 

“So, people aren’t just dying, they’re magically getting better from things that should have killed them,” Dean said, watching as Sam pulled out his laptop. “How do we even start to research this thing? We don’t deal with things that stop people from dying, we deal with things that kill people!” 

“I know Dean, but what else are we going to do? There’s nothing to investigate. There’s no bodies, there’s no evidence,” Sam sighed and rubbed his temple. “Maybe we find some of the people that definitely should have died and interview them? Ask what they felt and what happened? Maybe that’ll give us some kind of clue.” 

“We could...we could call Castiel? Or pray to him, I guess,” Dean suggested, trying his best to sound nonchalant. Ever since their conversation in the backyard after the raising of the witnesses, Dean had been thinking about the angel a bit more than he wanted to admit. “I mean, guy’s millions of years old, right? He’ll have seen shit we could never even dream of.” 

“It’s worth a try, I don’t know if he’ll listen,” Sam shrugged and sat down at the small table, opening up his laptop to try and do some of his own research. Dean huffed a bit but stood, heading out on the small balcony to get a little bit of privacy from his brother. 

“I don’t really know if this gonna work or not, but might as well give it a go,” Dean muttered. “I pray to Castiel, angel of the Lord...we kind of really need your help, man. Something’s going on in this town that just ain’t natural and we have no way of figuring out what it is. So if you could fly your way here sometime soon, we would really appreciate it.” He waited a few minutes, leaning against the railing, to see if Castiel would show. When he didn’t, Dean shook his head and went back inside. “Nothing. We’re on our own for this one, Sammy.” 

“We’ll figure it out. We always do,” Sam said. “I think I might have found something anyway. In most cultures, there’s always someone who carries a soul into the afterlife. In Greece and Rome, it was Charon, others the Grim reaper, or even just Death itself. So what if that’s what’s happening in this town? There’s no Death, no one to take anyone to the afterlife?”

“Sounds a little bit unrealistic, Sammy, we don’t even know if that’s how these things work,” Dean said and dropped onto his bed. “We’re so fucking screwed. How do we save people that don’t actually need saving?”

-

Two days later, Sam and Dean were at even more of a loss and no where closer to figuring out the lack of deaths in Greybull. They had talked to several people that should have been long dead - a fatal gunshot wound, a head injury, a cancer patient taken off life support - but none of them had any idea why they woke up when they shouldn’t have. 

They were about to call it a night, close the books and turn off the laptop, when there was a newly familiar flap of wings, Castiel standing before them. “I’m sorry it took me so long to respond to your prayer, Dean, I had other things to attend to in Heaven.” 

“Other things? It’s been two fucking days!” Dean said angrily, standing to be able to look down at the angel. 

“Has it? Time...moves differently in Heaven. What can I be of assistance with?” Castiel asked, either not bothered by Dean’s frustration or he hadn’t even noticed. 

“There’s something hinky going on in this town, Castiel,” Sam interrupted. “No one’s dying. At all.” 

“Yes, I noticed something was off the moment I landed. Give me a moment to search the town,” Castiel nodded solemnly and then disappeared. Dean opened his mouth to complain but before he could even get a word out, Castiel was back. 

“There are no reapers,” he said tensely. “No one is dying because there is no spirit to take them to Heaven or Hell.” Sam looked at Dean with a triumphant smirk. 

“So what do we do? Where are the reapers?” Dean asked, ignoring how smug Sam was. 

“I am not positive,” Castiel said. “But there is a church that has been heavily warded and I cannot see inside it.”

“So that’s our best bet then?” Dean said. “Let’s get going. We have got to get this town back to normal.” With that, the three of them headed downstairs to the Impala, Castiel directing Dean to the church from the backseat. Dean parked in front of it, frowning a bit. “Doesn’t look special.”

“Trust me, this place is very well protected,” Castiel said as they all exited the car. “I’m not even sure I’ll be able to get in.”

“Do you have any idea what we’ll be walking into?” Dean asked, glancing over at Castiel. 

“Unfortunately with all the warding, I cannot sense any presence in the building, but my best guess would be a demon,” Castiel looked up toward the top of the church. “We should hurry.”

Sam and Dean agreed, jogging up the steps to the church, tugging their guns from their waistbands. “Ready?” Sam asked quietly and at Dean’s nod, pulled open the door and stepped in slowly. Dean followed cautiously, Castiel bringing up the rear until he got stopped right at the door. 

“As I predicted, it has been warded against angels,” he said. 

“Well, what do we do about it?” Dean asked hurriedly, glancing around to make sure no one was watching them.

“You will have to do this alone,” Castiel said plainly. From his sleeve dropped a silver blade and he held it out to Dean. “Take this, it will kill almost anything.”

“And how are you going to protect yourself out here?” Dean asked. Castiel smirked. 

“Don’t worry, Dean, I can protect myself just fine without a weapon.” Dean swallowed heavily, forcing himself not to have any outward reaction to Castiel’s tone. After a moment he accepted Castiel’s offer, gripping the handle of the blade. It was weighty but it felt good in his hand. 

“Shout if something happens,” Dean said tersely before he finally followed Sam further into the church. The ground level was completely empty but soon they were taking the stairs up to the attic. They could hear movement from behind the door, but it was too muffled to know exactly what was happening. Sam gripped his gun with one hand and used the other to turn the knob, opening the door slowly in hopes whoever was in the room wouldn’t notice. 

They could never be so lucky. 

As soon as the door was open, both men were pulled forward and on their knees in front of an older man, two people tied up behind him. 

“So nice of you to join us,” the man said in a voice Dean could only describe as slimy. Just as he went to comment, he glanced at Sam to see his brother frozen in fear. 

“Sammy?” Dean said worriedly. 

“Don’t worry Dean-o, he’s just excited to see an old friend,” the man said and flashed his black, demon eyes. Dean clenched his fists where they held behind his back. “Isn’t that right, Sammy-boy?”

“Fuck off,” Sam spat, finally getting over himself to respond. “A friend is the last thing I’d ever call you.”

“That hurts my feelings,” the demon said, faking sadness. “We were two peas in a pod down in the pit.”

“We are nothing alike, Alastair!” Sam almost roared. 

“Bela disagrees,” Alastair said cruelly. Sam’s breath hitched at the mention of Bela and he fought harder against the invisible restraints. 

“You keep her name out of your fucking mouth!” Sam shouted. Dean was surprised at how angry Sam was at the mention of Bela. He glanced around to see if there was anything that he could use to get themselves out of this situation. “You don’t know anything about her.” 

“And you do?” Alastair walked around the two of them so he was standing directly behind Sam. He grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked it back, so Sam was forced to look up. “Do you really know anything about her? You know she’s been down there almost twice as long as you now.” 

“Hey douchebag!” Dean got Alastair’s attention, causing the demon to let go of Sam and stalk the few steps toward him. “You don’t fucking touch my brother.”

“Oh Dean Winchester…” Alastair sang. “You know the plan was for you to be one in Hell, not your baby brother. You were supposed to be on my rack. I wonder if you would have lasted longer.” 

“What the fuck are you talking ab-” before Dean could finish his sentence, Sam was able to break free from Alastair’s and tackled the demon to the ground, Ruby’s knife in his hand. In moments, he had Alastair pinned to the ground with the knife to his neck. “Sam wait!” Dean pushed himself up onto his feet. “We need to know why he’s doing this!” 

“Not good enough,” Sam growled and slashed the knife across Alastair’s throat before stabbing it into his heart. His eyes and mouth glowed a bright red-orange before he fell limp against the floor. Sam panted as he pushed himself up to stand with Dean, both of them turning to face the two other people in the room. 

“You’re the reapers then?” Dean asked. One of them nodded. “Things are gonna go back to normal now? People dying when they’re supposed to?” They nodded again. “Good. Get out of here, we’ll clean this up.” The reapers didn’t need any more encouragement and disappeared from the room without a word. 

“We have to get rid of the body,” Sam said, sliding the knife back into his waistband. “How are we gonna get it out of here without being seen?” 

“I can help with that,” Castiel said from the doorway. 

“How are you in here? I thought there was too much warding?” Dean asked, stepping over the body to face Castiel more head on. 

“Once the demon was killed, the power behind the warding faded and I was able to get through it. I shall dispose of the body,” Castiel leaned down, touching two fingers to Alastiar’s corpse, and then the two were gone from the room, as well as the blood that spilt all over the floor. 

“Guess that makes our jobs easier. Come on, it’s late, we need to get some rest before we head home,” Dean led Sam back downstairs and out to the car. They stopped at a local diner to pick up some dinner before going back to the inn. They ate in relative silence, Dean glancing at Sam every so often. “What did Alastair mean? When he said the thing about lasting longer?” 

“It’s nothing, Dean. I don’t really want to talk about it,” Sam said, shoving a few fries in his mouth to avoid answering further. 

“It’s obviously something. You were in Hell, Sammy, that’s not something you just get over or move on,” Dean said worriedly. “I just don’t want you to get lost in there or something.” 

“I’ll be fine, Dean, really. And besides, there’s no way to really describe what happened or what I went through,” Sam said and wiped his mouth. “I’m beat, I’m gonna take a shower and head to bed.” 

“I’ll stay up for a bit, be on the balcony if you need anything,” Dean said, throwing the trash from their dinner away before grabbing his beer to head out to the small balcony. He dropped onto the bench and took a long swig, looking up at the night sky. 

“Hello Dean,” Castiel said from Dean’s left where he was sitting on the bench beside him. 

“Hey,” Dean said with a little salute. “Think I’m getting better at figuring out if you’re about to drop in.” 

“That is a good thing?” Castiel asked, furrowing his brows. 

“Yeah, man, it’s a good thing,” Dean said with a laugh. “Thanks for taking care of Alastair’s body, by the way. I’m not sure if me and Sam could have gotten it out without causing some sort of panic.” 

“It was no issue,” Castiel said. “I’m glad I could be of assistance in some way.” 

“You’re more useful than that, disposing bodies,” Dean scoffed. “Speaking of, I’ve got your angel blade or whatever you call it in my bag.” 

“You keep it,” Castiel said with a strong nod. “As I said before, I can protect myself without a weapon. You are more vulnerable.” 

“Way to make a guy feel special, Cas,” Dean said and took another drink from his beer. “Can I call you that? I’m gonna call you that, much better than Castiel.”

“I suppose that would be alright,” Castiel amended. “I have never had a...nickname before.” 

“Never?” Dean glanced over at him. “Angels all got names like yours?” 

“If by names like mine, you mean biblical, then yes, all angels have biblical names. Or rather, all biblical names come from the angels,” Cas pondered. Dean laughed again, laying his arm over the back of the bench, his hand close enough to touch Castiel’s shoulder. 

“Didn’t think angels would have a sense of humor,” he said. “So, you gonna tell me what Alastair was doing or am I gonna have to play Clue to figure out what he was doing in the attic with the reapers and the rope?” 

“...I do not understand that reference,” Cas frowned. “But I am sorry that I am still unable to answer your questions, Dean. I don’t know why Alastair kidnapped the reapers or what he intended to do with them. What I do know is that the demons are getting more arrogant. They are not hiding their actions, as if they were taunting the angels.” 

“Well, thanks for playing, Cas,” Dean said and downed the rest of his beer, setting the empty bottle on the ground next to his foot. “Thanks for coming to help us. Even if you couldn’t actually do much because of the warding, it’s nice to know you were listening.” 

“I will always hear your prayers, Dean,” Cas said sincerely, meeting Dean’s eyes and holding contact for several long, intense seconds. Dean could feel his cheeks heating up and he broke the staring contest he and Cas were locked in. 

“Good to know,” Dean said and cleared his throat. “So, I have a question for you. During the first sign of the apocalypse or whatever, all those souls rose, and it was people that were killed by the supernatural-”

“Yes, they were witnesses to things outside the normal human scope of reality,” Castiel said. Dean snorted.

“That’s one way to put it, I guess. But for Mom and Bobby and Sam, it was people they couldn’t save,” Dean took a swig from his beer.

“You are wondering why no one appeared to you,” Castiel guessed. Dean just nodded. “It is because no one that has died from a hunt that you were on has blamed you for their death.”

“What?” Dean looked up at Castiel in surprise. “What do you mean no one blames me?”

“The spell that raised the spirits dealt with guilt, fear, and blame. The spirits your family saw blame them for their death, and in turn your family feels guilty. And while you feel guilty for the deaths of those you could not save, they do not blame you.” Cas explained. 

“Okay, but why don’t they blame me? It was my fault, I did get them killed,” Dean clenched his hands around a new bottle. 

“I cannot say for sure, but my best assumption would be because you are a compassionate man and the people you could not save saw that. They do not believe it is your fault because you did everything you possibly could to save them. Sometimes it’s simply not enough,” Cas said, meeting Dean’s eyes. “And they are correct, Dean. You are not at fault for any death.”

“Whatever,” Dean muttered, shifting uncomfortably. “So, you got angel business you have to jet off to?” 

“Unfortunately, yes, I do. There is currently a battle ongoing in eastern Europe that I must participate in. WIth any luck, we will secure a victory soon and I will be able to return and help with anything necessary from anyone that requires my assistance,” Cas hadn’t taken his eyes off Dean the entire time he spoke. 

“Good to know,” Dean said softly. “Good luck with your battle.”

“Thank you, Dean,” Castiel bowed his head briefly. “I look forward to seeing you again.” Cas was gone before Dean could process his words and when he finally did, they left his mouth gaping stupidly like a fish.

Dean clenched and unclenched his fists a few times as he played over the conversation in his head again. For a brief moment, he remembered the nurse from the day they arrived in town - the case was over, he could go find her now and spend his last night in Greybull with some stunning company. 

And then Cas’ face flashed in his head, and suddenly that nurse wasn’t any more important than Sammy’s too-many step hair care routine. 

With that, Dean headed back inside their room and collapsed onto his own bed, only bothering to kick off his boots and pull off his flannel before succumbing to sleep. 

-

_Sam woke suddenly, startling and pulling against his restraints. The usual acrid smell of burning flesh permeated every molecule of air around him, and the screams of the other tortured souls rang in his ears. Even after 30 years, he wasn’t used to his surroundings and he doubted he ever would be._

_“Morning Sammy-boy,” Alastair said from beside him, causing Sam to whip his head around. “How was your day yesterday? Cruel and gruesome, I hope.” Sam refused to give Alastair the satisfaction of a response. “Don’t want to play along? Don’t worry, I have just the thing. Bring her in!” Sam frowned and glanced around, freezing when he saw Bela being dragged into the room by two demons. “String her up.”_

_“No!” Sam shouted but the demons paid him no mind as they strapped Bela up to the rack across from him. “Alastair no! Stop it, you don’t need to do this!”_

_“I finally found your weak spot, Sammy-boy,” Alastair sneered. “You don’t care for your own soul, but someone else’s? You’d do anything to protect them. Now Bela, what shall we start with?”_

_Sam continued to yell and shout for Alastair to stop, Bela’s screams and pained whimpers echoing in his ears. He watched as Bela’s skin was peeled away from her body, as her bones were strategically broken, one by one, as every inch of muscle was cut into by a jagged knife._

_“Alastair, please,” Sam begged. “Please stop hurting her, please, she doesn’t deserve this.”_

_“I’m having quite a bit of fun, though, Sammy-boy,” Alastair said and walked back over to Sam. “As much pleasure that I get from physical torture, something about psychological torture makes my little heart sing.”_

_“Alastair please,” Sam sobbed, trying his hardest to get off the rack to reach Bela._

_“All you have to do is say yes, Sammy-boy, and I’ll stop,” Alastair said. “Do you want the knife?”_

_“No!” Sam spat. “Nothing you do could make me say yes.”_

_“I’ll just have to try harder then,” Alastair smirked and glanced back over at Bela. She was put back together again, fully healed just to be ripped apart all over again. “Why don’t we start with your fingers this time?” Alastair mused and one by one, pulled all of Bela’s nails off. Sam cried out, once again trying to get Alastair to stop but he knew there was only one way._

_“Alastair…”_

_“You know, bitch, souls aren’t usually this pretty down here,” the demon said, trailing his hand down Bela’s torso. “By the time I’m finished, they’re mangled and twisted, but you’ve held on for a long time. I wonder what I need to do to you to make you finally break. Maybe we just need to relive why you made your deal in the first place.” Sam’s eyes widened as Alastair’s hand moved even further down, over her hips and -_

_“I’ll do it!” Sam shouted. “I’ll take the knife, I’ll do it!”_

_Alastair turned to face Sam with a smug grin. “Say that one more time for me, Sammy-boy.”_

_“I want the knife,” Sam said through gritted teeth. All of sudden his restraints fell from his wrists and ankles and he crumpled to the ground. He looked up at Bela slowly, and she was staring right back at him, eyes wide in shock and disbelief._

_“I knew you had it in you, Sammy-boy!” Alastair pulled Sam to his feet and waved his hands, the demons stepping forward to pull Bela from the room. Sam fought against Alastair’s hold as he could do nothing but watch as she was dragged back to the same endless torture._

“Sam!” Dean shouted and shook his brother roughly to wake him from his nightmare. “Sammy!” Sam finally startled awake, sitting up so fast he almost knocked heads with Dean. 

“Wh-what?” He mumbled, looking around, letting out a deep sigh of relief when he saw their rented room rather than the deep red of Hell. “What happened?”

“You were shouting Bela’s name, dude,” Dean explained, falling to sit on his own bed across from Sam. “And you sounded...you sounded pretty fucked up about it. About her.” Sam didn’t say anything at first, just rubbed his hands over his face. 

“Yeah, well, I saw some fucked up things in Hell,” he dismissed. 

“Sammy,” Dean started. “Look, I don’t know what happened in the pit, and I know I’ll never be able to really understand what you went through, but you’re my little brother, and I want to take care of you. I need to take care of you. So if you don’t talk to me about what happened, talk to someone else? Mom or Bobby or hell, you could even talk to Cas if you ever get the chance.”

“Cas?” Sam asked, raising his eyebrows. 

“Oh,” Dean couldn’t help the blush that rose to his cheeks. “Uh, you know, Castiel. Figure if he’s gonna be hanging around a while he should have something easier than Castiel.” Sam snorted. He knew what his brother looked like when he was flirting. 

“Yeah, sure,” Sam said and rolled his eyes. “And I hear you, Dean, I do. Just let me process it myself a bit longer, okay?”

“Okay, Sammy,” Dean nodded. “One more thing? How close did you and Bela get down there? How much could you even see of her?”

“It wasn’t much. But the few times, being able to talk to someone I knew, it helped. And she’s still down there,” Sam looked down, the familiar feeling of guilt icing over his insides. 

“She made a deal, Sammy. She knew what she was doing,” Dean said, leaning back against his pillows. 

“Shut the fuck up, man, you don’t know shit about her. You know she’s no older than you? Meaning she was a teenager when she made that deal,” Sam was glaring at his brother now. “And you have no idea why she made the deal to begin with.”

“Alright, alright, chill the fuck out,” Dean scoffed. “So sorry to offend you. Just get some sleep, we need to head out early to get back home.” Sam took his cue and laid back down in bed, turning on his side to face away from Dean. Now that he was out of Dean’s eyesight, he let a few silent tears fall, mourning for the only person who could offer comfort in a place that otherwise had none. 

-

About a week after their confrontation with Alastair, after relaxing at home - as much as they could - something else went to shit, as usual. In the next town over, a high school teacher locked a large group of kids in the gymnasium and killed exactly 66 of them. As soon as the last was dead, the teacher collapsed onto the floor. 

Figuring it was akin to everything else that was happening, Dean and Mary decided to go check it out, as Sam was dealing with his university and getting enrolled for the next semester. 

“It’s gotta be demons, right?” Dean said as they were driving, him behind the wheel and Mary in the passenger seat. “That’s what all this other crap has been. At least, that’s what Cas has said.”

“How much have you been talking to Castiel?” Mary asked. She hadn’t spoken more than a few sentences to the angel herself, but it seemed her boys, Dean in particular, were starting to trust him and even like him. 

“Oh, umm, you know, not that much?” Dean shrugged, stuttering a little. “Just, he’ll usually come down every couple’a days to talk.” 

“Couple of days? I’ve only seen him once since he brought Sam to the hospital,” Mary said, turning to fully look at Dean. 

“Well, he usually comes at night, after you go to bed,” Mary couldn’t tell for sure but she could have sworn Dean was _blushing_. Dean Winchester, her Dean, who still had a love’em and leave’em mentality. While she didn’t know the details, of course, she knew Dean’s last serious relationship was in high school and it only lasted a few months and since then, he’s never been with one person more than a few weeks. The few times they’ve talked about it, Dean had said he needed someone who knows the life, who hunts and knows the risks and the sacrifices. He wants someone already in the life so he doesn’t have to pull any innocent bystander in. 

And Mary also knew that hunters were not the most accepting bunch. She knew Dean had never told anyone outside their family about his sexuality and for good reason. She could only imagine the comments he would get from hunters her age and older. She knew Dean felt discouraged, finding someone in the life that would be accepting of his entire person would be nearly impossible, so he took what he could. 

“What do you two talk about?” Mary asked, doing her best to sound as innocent as possible. She wanted to know how Dean felt about this angel because it was clearly more than battlefield loyalty. 

“Anything? We’ve talked about what happened with Sammy, a bit about what’s going on now with these demons, but mostly it’s other stuff. You know, for someone who’s been alive for millions of years, he’s never listened to Zepp. Or Queen, or Bowie, or even Seger. Mom, he’s never heard Seger.”

Mary chuckled a little at how offended Dean sounded. “Have you tried to get him to listen to any?”

“Yeah but he always says that with what little time he has away from his angel buddies, he’d prefer to spend it talking,” Mary is absolutely positive Dean is blushing this time. 

“Well, why don’t you make him a mixtape?” Mary suggested. “I think I have about ten from your father in the glovebox of my car.”

“Huh,” Dean muttered, lost in thought. “That’s not half bad.” Mary just smiled and patted Dean’s knee. While she wasn’t so sure of Castiel, what his motives were and where his loyalties truly lied, she was glad to see Dean allowing himself to be open with someone that was outside of their family - something he had struggled with his entire life. “Ready to kick some demon ass?”

“Always,” Mary said as they drove past the city limit sign. 

-

After checking into a motel and changing into their suits, Mary and Dean headed to the county jail to speak with the teacher who had murdered the teenagers. Dean let his mom take point, as usual. She had twenty plus years on him and he always learned something when he watched her. 

“I’m Agent Sims and this is my partner Agent Brookes,” Mary introduced themselves to the teacher, both holding their badges out to let him see. He was handcuffed and shackled to the table, wearing only his orange jumpsuit and white slip on shoes, but the real story was in his face and hands. His skin was pale and gaunt, as if he hadn’t been sleeping for days, his nails were bloodied and he had scratches all over his wrists and neck. “We just wanted to ask a few questions about the incident on Friday.” Dean took the chance to cough, saying _Christo_ just loud enough to check if he was still possessed. 

“Troy, and sure, we can talk about it. Nothing I say can make anything any worse,” the teacher and definitely not demon, thankfully - Troy - replied. 

“Thank you. So, we’ve read in your statement that you don’t remember anything at all. What is the last thing you do remember?” Mary asked, setting down a tape recorder on the table in between them. 

“I was eating lunch alone in my classroom,” Troy said solemnly. “Next thing I know, I’m in the gym with all the b-bodies and I’m being arrested.”

“Before you blacked out, did you smell anything out of the ordinary?” Mary continued, watching Troy intently but keeping her gaze sympathetic. 

“Why is that important?” Troy asked, fists clenching. “Those kids are dead because of me!”

“Some gases are known to cause delusions and psychosis,” Mary fibbed easily. “We’re trying to figure out what happened and why it happened and the easiest way to do so is if you answer my questions to the best of your abilities.”

Troy was silent for a long while. “Yes, right before I...I remember smelling something like rotten eggs. But I had no idea what they were coming from, I brought pasta for lunch.”

“That helps a lot, Troy, thank you,” Mary said sincerely. “And Troy, I know things are scary right now, but you can get through this.”

“I became a teacher because I wanted to help those kids. I wanted to give them opportunities and chances at a life they wouldn’t have without a good education,” Troy said, leaning back in his chair, voice hollow. “And now I took 66 of those chances away. So no, Agent, things won’t be alright. I won’t get through this or over this, or any other bullshit. It doesn’t matter if it was a gas induced psychosis or I was coerced under duress. I did it. I killed those kids and I will never be able to make up for that. To any of those families, to the world, or to myself.”

-

After leaving the prison, Dean and Mary agreed to head over to the school next. While they were pretty sure it was a demon that did this, they wanted to be as sure as possible. They made their way into the gymnasium and as soon as the door opened, they were met with the pungent and overwhelming smells of sulfur and bleach. 

“Definitely a demon,” Dean said as they stepped inside. There wasn’t much left behind of the crime scene, all the blood and bodies cleaned up days ago. “See anything?” he asked as they walked around the perimeter. 

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” Mary called back. “Just some extremely clean floors.” Dean choked back a laugh. 

“Let’s get out of here then,” Dean said. Mary readily agreed and they left the school as quickly as they arrived. “Is there anything to even do? The deed’s been done, the kids are dead and the teacher isn’t possessed anymore.” 

“We need to figure out why this is happening,” Mary said. “If this all just individual demons or if someone is orchestrating all of this.” 

“Yeah, let’s get home and we can talk to everyone about it. I know Bobby and Karen have been reaching out to other hunters to see if they know anything, reading through as many different bibles as they can find,” Dean and Mary got in the Impala and began the short drive back home. 

-

After returning to Sioux Falls, Mary and Dean collected Sam and headed over to Bobby and Karen’s. Karen had headed out to help a neighbor with a few things, and to take a break from researching. Bobby was sitting in the living room, Hunter curled at his feet, as he read through an old bible written in Latin. 

“Hey old man,” Dean greeted with a smirk as they walked in. “You found anything since we’ve been gone?” 

“You mean since this morning?” Bobby said gruffly. “Not too much. There have been some more strange, biblical occurrences, but we still don’t know who or why besides demons.” 

“Obviously it’s demons,” Sam said. “All of these signs of the apocalypse or whatever have all been because of demons. But why would they be doing it?” 

“And who’s behind it,” Mary cut in, “Are they all acting on their own or are they taking orders from someone, and if they are taking orders, who is it from?” 

“And we need to know their end goal, if it is the apocalypse or something else,” Dean finished with a sigh. “There are too many questions and not enough answers. And no demon is sticking around long enough to give us any. The one that killed all those kids was long gone, left as soon as the guy was arrested.” 

“You know there might be someone who could give us answers,” Mary suggested, nudging Dean lightly. 

“Who?” He asked, brows furrowed. 

“That angel of yours,” Bobby said bluntly. “What does he say of all this.” 

“That it’s demons, just like we suspected,” Dean said. “He said he doesn’t know why the demons are doing all this, just that the angels are trying their best to stop them whenever they can.” 

“And that’s not sketchy at all, to you?” Bobby prompted. “He’s an angel of the Lord, he’s been alive for millions of years, and with the entirety of Heaven trying to stop the angels, he has no idea what the demons are doing?” 

“I mean... “ Dean shrugged. “Alright, so it’s a little suspicious but that’s just what he’s like.” 

“I think we need to talk to him, Dean,” Mary said pointedly. 

“Alright fine, so we’ll talk to him about this,” Dean said and slumped against the door frame. The silence stretched for a long awkward moment, all three of them staring at Dean. “Why does it have to be me?” 

“It’s you that’s been having the late night chick flick moments with him,” Sam snorted, taking any chance he could to tease his brother. 

“Shut up,” Dean grumbled. “Fine, I’ll do it. But y’all better be grateful.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I pray to thee Castiel to get down here. C’mon buddy, we need to talk to you about some stuff that’s been happening.” Just as Dean finished speaking, the tell-tale _whoosh_ of angel wings resounded through the living room. 

“You called?” Cas asked, standing next to Dean in the doorway, looking directly at him. 

“Uh, yeah, we just have a couple questions about all this demon shit that’s been happening lately,” Dean said with a half smile. “We know it’s demons and we know that these are signs of the apocalypse but that’s it dude, we got nothing else. And Mom and I just got back from talking to a guy that killed 66 kids. We need answers.” 

“I will try to be of as much assistance I can be,” Cas said. “Though I do not believe I will have all the answers you seek.”

“How about who?” Mary asked. “Is there someone that is leading the demons?” 

“Yes, her name is Lilith,” Cas replied. “She is the first demon. She is one of the most powerful in existence.” 

“Okay, so Lilith is in charge. Why is she doing all this? What’s the point?” Sam asked, Castiel finally turning to look at him rather than Dean. 

“As it states in the scripture, these are all signs of the Apocalypse.” 

“Okay, but how? Are they signs because she’s doing them or is she following like a list?” Sam asked, raising his eyebrows after a moment when Cas refused to answer. 

“Cas,” Dean pushed himself to stand up straight and took a few steps closer to the angel. “Is that what she’s doing? Following a list?” 

“Of sorts,” Castiel finally admitted. “Not so much a list as a set of guidelines. Lilith is breaking the seals to Lucifer’s cage in Hell.” 

“Holy shit,” Bobby muttered. “How many seals does she need to break before the Devil goes down to Georgia?” Castiel frowned, tilting his head slightly. 

“Why would Lucifer go to Georgia?” Cas asked but Dean just shook his head to stop anyone from answering. 

“I’ll explain later,” he told Cas. “How many seals until Lucifer busts out?” 

“There are over 600 possible seals that Lilith could break,” Cas started. “But to free Lucifer, she only needs to break 66.” 

“How many have been broken so far?” Mary asked, not really wanting to know the number. 

“17,” Cas said plainly. 

“17? And you didn’t think to tell us?” Dean asked, glaring at the angel now. “What the fuck, Cas, that’s something we deserve to know, something we need to know!” 

“It was a direct order from Heaven that you and your family were not to be informed of the seals until you were deemed ready,” Cas said and before he could expand further, Mary had cut him off. 

“Until we were ready? Who got to decide that?” her voice was laced with venom. 

“I am unsure of who gives the orders, I am too low of rank to speak with them directly,” Cas explained. 

“So you knew the entire time that all this shit was Lilith breaking seals?” Dean asked, calmer than the others, but his face gave away how angry he was under the surface. 

“Yes, I was aware that she was the perpetrator,” Cas confirmed with a nod. 

“So you lied to us. To me,” Dean pursed his lips and scoffed. “I asked you what was going on with all this shit, if you knew who and why, and you lied to my face.” 

“Dean,” Cas took a step toward the man but Dean took a step back in turn. “I am sorry. I did not want to lie to you but my superiors, they - they insisted that I do it. If I had disobeyed, you would have been taken from my care.” Dean took a deep breath. 

“Is there anything else you can tell us?” 

“The seals, though there are many, the first and last seal must always be the same,” Cas said. “ _The first demon will be the last seal_.” 

“So the last seal is Lilith?” Mary asked, a bit confused. “What does that mean?” 

“I’m not quite sure,” Castiel admitted. “That is information that has not been given to my rank, if it is available at all.” 

“Okay, so the last seal, the seal that sets Lucifer free is something to do with Lilith. What about the first seal, what was that?” Sam jumped in. Cas looked at him and frowned. 

“ _The first seal shall be broken when a righteous man sheds blood in Hell_ ,” Cas recites. “That seal was broken by you, Sam.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can find me on tumblr @hazloveshisboo or Grace @hellerjesuschrist !


	3. Chapter 3

Before Cas can finish what he’s saying, Sam is out the door. Everyone watched in shock as he left, both by the revelation about what he had done, and by his abrupt reaction. Bobby, Mary and Dean exchanged looks. “Who’s going to go after him?” Mary asked, “He shouldn’t be alone right now.” 

Cas spoke up before Bobby or Dean could respond, “I will do it.” 

Dean furrowed his brows, “What? Why would it be you?”

“What Dean is trying to say,” Mary said, shooting a glare at Dean, “is that maybe it would be better if one of us did it, because we’re his family.” 

Cas was already on his way out the door, “And I am the only one here who has seen horrors even remotely comparable to what Sam has been subjected to.” No one argued after that. 

Cas found Sam slumped against the wall outside the house, his head in his hands as his shoulders shook violently. Cas cleared his throat, remembering the many times Dean had admonished him for showing up without announcing himself. Sam flinched at the sound, looking up at Cas with red-rimmed eyes. 

“I didn’t mean to,” Sam said, barely a whisper. 

Cas knelt by Sam in an awkward approximation of an attempt at comforting him, “Sam, you did what anybody would have. Many humans would succumb earlier than you did, in fact, many did. The reason the seal was broken was because you were the first _righteous_ man to shed blood in Hell. You are a good man, Sam.”

Sam remained silent, so Cas continued, “I see that you’re upset, and I’m sorry to have been the cause of that. If you would prefer, I can go in and get your mother or Dean.” 

Just as Cas had turned to go back inside, Sam spoke up. “Wait, Cas, I -” he drew in a shaky breath, “I didn’t mean to do it, I tried so hard not to-” he broke off with a choked sob. 

Cas smiled softly at him, “I know why you did it. When I pulled you out, I had to put you back together. I was able to read your mind and see your memories. It’s not your fault.” Sam nodded weakly and glanced up as Castiel offered his hand. He took it, the angel seemingly using no strength to help Sam back to his feet despite about half a foot shorter with a smaller build. “Are you ready to go inside and see your family?”

“Not really,” Sam admitted. “Could we, I don’t know, take a walk or something?”

“I think that would be very wise,” Cas said and let Sam decide the direction they would walk in, simply taking the sidewalk down the street. “In Heaven, when I am troubled, there is a particular man’s memory that I like to walk through.”

“A man’s memory? Is that how Heaven works?” Sam asked. They still knew next to nothing about the other side of the afterlife.

“Yes, each soul in Heaven is given their own…small piece of it, you could say. And in that piece, they live through their happiest and most joyful memories.”

“That sounds nice,” Sam said wistfully. 

“You will be there one day, Sam,” Cas said. He sounded very sure, almost as if he was promising the declaration. “Your soul is good and bright.”

“Uh, thanks, I guess,” Sam said, not sure what to say to someone complimenting his _soul_. “Thanks for talking to me, Cas, I don’t think I could’ve dealt with anyone else right now.”

“Because you believe them to be better than you are and thus, they would not have broken the first seal,” Cas said assuredly. 

“Okay, dude, the whole reading minds thing can be a bit rude so maybe, like, turn it off when you’re around us?” Sam suggested.

“Yes, Dean has asked me to cease looking into his mind. He says it’s a breach of privacy the NSA wished they had. I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I do as he asks,” Cas explained. Sam let out a small snort of laughter. 

The two men, or rather man and angel, continued walking around the block, their conversation staying more lighthearted rather than focus on Sam’s trauma. Once they reached the house again, Sam stopped Cas with a hand on his shoulder. 

“This was nice Cas, it’s nice to have someone to talk to about all this. I know my Mom and Dean mean well but I’m still just trying to figure out how to live after that, and they’ll never be able to even comprehend what I went through. But you know, you saw it.”

“I have also enjoyed our time conversing,” Cas said.

“Maybe whenever you’re down here on Earth, if you got time, we could do this again,” Sam suggested, a bit warily. It’s not easy asking an angel of the Lord to take a walk with you. 

“I think that sounds very nice,” Cas said with a smile. “I would like to take a walk with you again, whenever the opportunity arises.”

-

The weeks that followed the revelation about what Sam had done in Hell were filled with long stretches of tense silence and shared glances between Dean and Mary as Sam began taking daily walks with Cas. 

Dean wasn’t _jealous_ per se, it was just that, Cas only had so much time to spend on Earth on any given day, and the newfound friendship between Sam and Cas really cut into the occasional late-night talks that Dean had grown used to with the angel. 

“I just don’t know why Sam can’t talk to us,” Dean said to Mary over breakfast one day, before Sam was awake, “We’re his family.” 

“I think he just needs some time,” Mary said, patting his arm, “Don’t forget, your brother has been through a lot.” 

Mary had intended to say more, but was interrupted as Sam entered. He raised his hand in greeting, a small smile on his face. Mary and Dean’s eyes followed him as he walked over to the coffee pot, pouring himself a cup. He walked over and sat down at the table with them. 

“So,” he began, “I think it’s time for us to… you know, talk.” 

Mary put on the most encouraging smile she could muster, but Dean’s scowl remained. Sam continued regardless. “Even though I wasn’t the last living ‘special child’, Azazel decided that he still wanted to keep me around for other things, which is why I went to Hell when I died, instead of Heaven. Every day is the same in Hell and time passes so differently down there. Up here, I was only gone for about 4 months but, down there, it was like 40 years.”

“We didn’t even know… we found out you were in Hell the night that we killed Azazel,” Mary started, already fighting back tears, “We had no idea.” 

Sam smiled softly and reached across the table to grab her hand reassuringly, “When I was in Hell, I met up with Bela. At first, I didn’t know what to say to her, and it wasn’t like we had much time anyway. Before I saw her, they’d string us up and torture us, and just when we couldn’t take it anymore, we’d be healed and the day would start again. And then, after I...after I said yes, talking to Bela was the only thing that got me through it -” he was cut off by the sob that escaped him. 

Dean, whose face had softened as Sam explained the situation further, got up and pulled his brother into a hug, “It’s okay, Sammy.” 

After a long moment, Sam started speaking again, “Every day, I would be tortured and every day I would be offered the chance to pick up the knife and torture others to save myself. I tried so fucking hard but I wasn’t strong enough. I picked up the knife after 30 years down there.” Sam looked down at the table, falling silent once more. “Baby,” Mary reached out and took Sam’s hand. “You held out far longer than anyone else would have. 30 years of going through that, of being...tortured daily, you are so strong.

“But not as strong as you,” Sam whispered. “If it had been either of you-”

“Don’t do that,” Dean said, cutting him off. “Where you were, what you had to do and go through...there’s no telling what me and Mom would have done, okay? If we would have held out longer or said yes earlier, there’s no way of knowing. So don’t do that to yourself.” Sam nodded, though didn’t look convinced by Dean’s words. 

“Sam, I know that there’s only so much we can do,” Mary said, pulling his attention to her instead of Dean. “But we’re your family. We want nothing more than for you to be happy and healthy and safe. So, please, tell us what you need from us, okay? This is all brand new territory.”

“I will Mom, I promise. I’m sorry things have been so awful lately, I know you were upset that I didn’t tell you,” Sam said, wiping his cheeks quickly. 

“Oh, baby,” Mary cooed and cupped Sam’s cheek. “We weren’t upset you didn’t tell us, not really, we were upset you were hiding something that was hurting you so much. You hid it and we couldn’t do anything to help but we knew you were going through something awful.”

“So you could hear my nightmares, then?” Sam asked, looking down at the floor.

“Yeah, man, our rooms share a wall,” Dean rolled his eyes. “And it killed me to not go wake you up. But you wouldn’t talk to us so I figured you would want to be left alone.” Sam just smiled gratefully at Dean. 

“I did. I didn’t want anyone else seeing me like that,” he agreed. Dean bit back a remark about _Cas_ being allowed to see him like that. 

“But now that we’ve talked, are you okay with us helping you through things like your nightmares?” Mary asked. 

“Yeah, Mom, I am. I think that would help a lot,” Sam admitted, letting his family pull him into a tight hug. 

-

About a week after Sam finally came clean about most of his time in Hell - he still wasn’t ready to talk about Bela in depth, feeling the most guilty about not being able to save her as he promised - when Cas showed up much earlier than usual. 

“Castiel?” Mary asked as he stepped into the kitchen where she was sitting at the table, drinking a coffee. “What are you doing here already?” 

“I have something I need to talk with you all about,” Cas said. “Where are Sam and Dean?”

“They’re still asleep, I’ll go wake them,” Mary said and headed upstairs, banging on both their bedroom doors. “Get up and get downstairs!” She yelled. “Now, I want to see you in less than five minutes!” She heard identical groaning but it was enough to reassure they were awake and would follow orders so she joined Castiel in the kitchen once more. “They’ll be a few minutes.”

“That is alright. I understand it is hard for humans to rouse from their slumber,” Castiel said and took the seat next to Mary when she gestured for him to. 

“You want a coffee or tea?” Mary asked. 

“No thank you, I do not require sustenance of any kind,” Castiel declined. “But I appreciate the offer.” After repeatedly rejecting the offer of a beer from Dean, the human had told Castiel that even if you don’t accept, you should still offer gratitude - it was the human thing to do. 

“So, you’ve been getting close with Sam,” Mary said. “Going for a walk every day.”

“Yes, I believe that Sam feels it is easier to talk to me about his time in Hell. He still believes that he has disappointed you and Dean,” Castiel explained. “While I am both unbiased as well as have experience with Hell.”

“I understand why he feels more comfortable talking with you about this stuff, I just wish he felt the same about me. I’m his mother, I want to be there for him and make everything okay,” Mary took a sip of her coffee sheepishly, she didn’t mean to admit that to someone she barely knows. 

“He will come around eventually,” Castiel said confidently. “He loves you and Dean very much, which is why it is so difficult to tell you of his believed failures.”

Dean was first to stumble into the kitchen, bleary-eyed and grumpy. His mood was not improved when he saw Castiel seated at the kitchen table, “Oh,” he said, “How nice of you to spare a second for someone other than Sam.” 

Castiel quirked his head, “Well, yes. The issue I’m here regarding isn’t something Sam could handle on his own.” 

Dean rolled his eyes and walked over to the coffee pot silently. Mary smiled sheepishly at Castiel, knowing that he had no idea what Dean’s problem was. By the time Dean was seated at the table, Sam had entered the kitchen too. 

“Oh hey Cas,” Sam said with a smile, “You’re early today.” 

“I received orders to come down here. Something is going on, and since everything seems to center around the two of you,” Cas gestured between Sam and Dean, “they thought you’d be the best place to start.” 

Dean was staying pointedly silent, so Sam spoke up, “What’s going on, exactly?” 

“It seems like War - one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - has been causing some chaos,” Castiel said simply. All three Winchesters looked at him as if expecting him to say more. 

“Okay, what do you mean chaos?” Mary finally pressed. 

“His actual actions and location are hidden from us, but we do know that wherever he goes, he leaves a pile of bodies and broken seals,” Castiel explained. 

Dean scoffed, “So, basically, what you’re saying is that you know nothing.” 

“ _Dean_ , _”_ Mary admonished. 

Castiel continued, unphased, “There are several signs that we can track in order to predict where he’s going to be. You should be looking for signs such as polluted rivers and the destruction of infrastructure. We also know that he’ll be wearing a ring, which is the source of his power.” 

“We should go to the Roadhouse,” Mary said, “I bet Jo and Ash can help us out with that. Are you coming with us, Castiel?” 

He shook his head, “I have some things to attend to, but if you are able to find a location, you can pray to me and I will come help out however I can.” 

Mary, Sam and Dean stood up to pack their bags for an indefinite trip to Nebraska. “Dean,” Cas said, stopping him on his way out of the kitchen, “Could I speak with you for a moment?” 

Mary and Sam exchanged a glance and then left the kitchen. “I guess,” Dean said, rolling his eyes. 

“It seems like I offended you in some way. I don’t quite understand the nuance of human interaction, but if I’ve hurt you, I apologize.” 

“Don’t worry about it, Cas” Dean said, turning to walk away. 

“Is it because we haven’t spent time together lately? I’ve missed our talks,” Cas said quietly. 

At that, Dean turned around, “I thought…” he started, “I just thought maybe we had...something,” his eyes flicked up to meet Cas’. “Forget about it, I’m sorry.” 

Cas took a step toward him, “Dean-” he was cut off by Sam calling down the stairs for Dean to hurry his ass up. 

-

Jo was wiping down the bar, humming along to whatever was playing from the jukebox when Sam, Dean and Mary walked through the door into the nearly-deserted bar. “Mom,” she called as she set down the rag she’d been using, “The Winchesters are here.” 

Ellen walked into the room, Ash just a few steps behind her. She surged forward and hugged each of them, “Shit, it’s been a while since the last time we were all together. It’s good to see everyone up and walking,” she said with a bit of a laugh, “Especially you, Sam.” 

Once all six of them were seated at a nearby table with pints of beer in front of each of them, Ash pulled out his laptop. “So, tell me what kind of signs we’re looking out for, and I’ll throw them into my algorithm.” 

“Castiel said that we should be looking out for things like bodies of water that have recently become polluted, and mass, unexplained destruction of infrastructure.” Mary supplied, taking a sip of her beer. 

“That angel, huh?” asked Ellen, “He’s still hanging around after pulling Sam from the pit?” 

Dean flushed, clenching and unclenching his fists at the mention of the angel. “He’s been around,” Sam said, “He’s been really helpful for processing the things I went through down there.” 

Dean finished off his beer, rolling his eyes, “You find anything yet, Ash?” 

Ash nodded, “It looks like some weird stuff has been happening in River Pass, Colorado. It looks like several bridges were destroyed, the main river in the area is heavily polluted as of recently, and it looks like the power grid in the area is totally down.” 

“I guess we’re headed to Colorado,” Dean said, “Anyone else want to come with us?”

“I’m in!” replied Jo, eyes darting to her mother. 

Ellen let out a laugh, “Not without me, young lady.” 

“I’ll stay and take care of things around here,” said Ash, “And I’ll keep an eye out for any more signs like these.” 

Ellen got up, gathering the dirty pint glasses in front of everyone, “So it’s settled, then. Y’all can stay at our house and we’ll leave in the morning.” 

-

Fortunately, they knew in advance that the bridge into town had been destroyed, so the group had prepared to hike the long way in. Considering the length of the drive and the subsequent hike, it was early evening by the time they finally reached the town. 

“So, what are we looking for, exactly?” Dean asked, turning towards the others. 

“Well, according to the Bible, _‘a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from Earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him’”_ replied Sam, “So, a red horse, I guess?” 

Mary looked around at the rubble surrounding them and laughed, “A horse should be pretty easy to spot around here.” 

They walked through the streets of the town, mostly aimlessly until they came across a group of demons. Sam started reciting the exorcism rite from memory while everybody else dug around to find their holy water flasks. 

When neither the exorcism nor the holy water had an impact on the demons, the hunters looked at each other in concern. Even more shocking was the way that the demons recoiled when the hunters aimed shotguns at them. Mary was the first to take off in a run, and everyone else followed suit. They managed to find their way to an empty church and barricade themselves inside. 

“What the fuck is going on here,” asked Dean, looking around at the others, “Are we sure those were even demons?” 

“Well, they had black eyes,” Ellen pointed out. 

“What demon have you ever seen that could handle a full exorcism rite, not even flinch at holy water, but then cower at the sight of a shotgun?” Dean retorted. 

“Are you thinking they’re human? Or something else?” Jo asked. 

“It seems like this War guy is messing with our heads,” replied Sam.

After much discussion, they decided that they would split up and go out on a patrol, and get back in contact if they saw a red horse or any other indication of where War might be hiding out. Sam and Dean walked one way down the road, Ellen, Jo and Mary took the other. 

-

“You’ve got to give Cas a break,” said Sam, “I don’t think the guy even knows you have a crush on him.” 

Dean rolled his eyes, pointedly not engaging with the question. As he was looking around, a car caught his eye. It was a cherry red 1965 Mustang Fastback, unmarred despite the destruction surrounding it. 

Dean elbowed Sam, gesturing towards the car. “Don’t you think that’s a little weird?” 

Sam pursed his lips, “Yeah, actually. Everything around it is totally destroyed but it really doesn’t have a scratch on it. And it’s red…” 

“I can’t get a cell signal. Looks like we’re taking this one on our own. I don’t want to give him the chance to get away,” Dean said. 

“Maybe we should pray to Cas,” Sam suggested. 

“We’re fine.” Dean shot back gruffly, leaving no room for argument.

Sam raised his eyebrows, but nodded anyway, and the two of them entered the building, an old community center, silently. They had their shotguns poised and ready, Sam had Ruby’s knife tucked in his waistband and Dean had Cas’ angel blade. “It seem quiet to you?” Sam asked as they rounded a corner. 

“Yeah, definitely quiet,” Dean whispered, both of them pausing as they heard a crash come from deeper in the building. They followed the noise, eventually ending up in an open meeting room that looked to be set up as a pseudo dining room with tables and chairs spread out everywhere. At a table at the back of the room sat a lone man with a glass in his hand. 

“You boys have kept me waiting!” He called, pushing himself to his feet. “And I made it so easy to find me. You could almost say...you walked right into a trap.” The man smirked as the doors on either side of the room burst open and demons came rushing in. 

At least Sam and Dean hoped they were actual demons. 

The next few minutes were a haze of shouting out exorcisms in broken parts and pushing back the demons without physically harming them as much as they could manage - even if they were real demons, there were likely still humans in there. 

Eventually, all the demons had been incapacitated one way or another and only Sam, Dean, and War were left standing. “You boys do put on quite the show,” War said, giving them a condescending slow clap. “But time is up.” 

“I don’t fucking think so,” Dean growled as he leapt over the closest table and charged War, which startled the horseman just enough that he didn’t see Sam coming from the side. Dean shoved him against the wall, Sam helping pin him down. “Where the fuck is Lilith? We know that she’s behind all this, so you’re gonna tell us where she’s hiding.” 

“And why would I do that?” War tried to sound smug but his voice was strained. Sam yanked Ruby’s knife out and pressed the blade to War’s finger, just under the gold band. 

“I’d start talking,” Dean growled and pressed him harder into the wall. 

“I’d start with the playgrounds,” War said just as Sam dug the blade into his skin, cutting through the flesh and bone easily until both the finger and the ring had fallen to the floor. Before Dean could do anything, War practically dissolved under his hold. Sam and Dean looked at each for a long moment before Sam reached down and picked up the ring, turning it over in his hands. It was plain and nondescript - nothing they would have ever thought to look for. 

“That’s one ring down,” Dean said breathlessly. “Three to go.” 

-

After taking War’s ring, the five of them decided to stay at a motel a town over rather than drive all the way back to Nebraska. On the way, it was decided Ellen, Mary, and Jo would share one room and Dean and Sam would share another. When they finally arrived it was late, so Mary went into the lobby to book the rooms while the rest of them waited in the Impala. They were lucky enough to get two rooms next to each other so Dean drove the small distance and parked the car. 

“Good night boys,” Mary said and kissed each of their cheeks. “Get some rest, you two have earned it.” 

“We all have,” Dean said. They all bid each other goodnight before splitting off into their respective rooms. Sam and Dean took turns in the shower, Sam first and then Dean. Thankfully, by the time Dean was out, Sam was fast asleep, which gave him the opportunity to slip his shoes back on and head outside. He sat on the trunk of the Impala and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “Cas...I just wanted to let you know that War won’t be a problem anymore. We’re all okay. In one piece, more or less.” 

Dean paused as he felt the familiar gust of wind from an angel’s wings. “Dean,” Cas greeted. Dean opened his eyes and saw Castiel standing a few feet in front of him. “You prayed.” 

“I did,” Dean nodded, patting the car next to him. “Come on, sit.” 

“Are we going to continue our conversation from before you left Sioux Falls?” Cas asked bluntly as he sat next to Dean. “You seemed very upset with me. I assumed it was because we were no longer sharing our evening chats.” 

“That’s...yeah, I suppose that’s part of it,” Dean muttered. “It’s just that we were talking every few nights or so, and then all of sudden nothing but you have time to go on a walk with Sam every single day? Makes a guy feel like a placeholder is all.” 

“Dean, you are not a placeholder,” Castiel said sincerely, turning to face him. “You are one of the greatest men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Every time we talk, I learn things about you and about the world that bring new meaning to my existence. I am very grateful for the time that you allow us to spend together. I am choosing to spend what little free time I have with Sam because he is in a very vulnerable place right now, and he needs the support that I know I can offer. But do not think that I do so without regret for the loss of our time together.” 

Dean swallowed heavily, not at all expecting Cas’ heartfelt response. No one outside his family had ever talked about him like that, and he wasn’t entirely sure how to respond. “Well, Cas, that’s...that’s good to hear. And I am glad that you’re helping Sam out, I really am, especially when Mom and I can’t.” 

“I am always happy to help when I can,” Castiel said with a small smile. “Spending time on Earth with you...and Sam, it has become what I look forward to the most.” 

“I look forward to spending time with you too, Cas,” Dean admitted, feeling his cheeks heat up, knowing they would be a bright red. 

“I promise to put more effort into making time to come down so that we can continue our talks, Dean,” Castiel said, looking up at the night sky. “But for now, I must return. My brothers are calling to me. I am needed.” 

“Of course, Cas, go do your heavenly duties or whatever it is. Just...even if you can’t stay long to talk, it’s nice to hear from you,” Dean said, watching Cas as he kept his gaze trained up above. Dean licked his lips at the sight of Castiel’s neck stretched, his stubble creeping down and the vein standing out against his skin. 

“I shall speak to you soon, Dean,” Cas said and with a flutter and another gust of wind, he was gone. 

“Nice talking to you, Cas,” Dean whispered, looking up at the sky - at Heaven - where hopefully Cas had heard him. “I’ll see you soon.” 

-

Once the hunters got back to Sioux Falls, Mary called Bobby and Karen to come over for dinner as well as to discuss the new information they had gotten. As everyone gathered around the dining room table with takeout containers of Chinese food, Mary stood back for a second, smiling at how full her house was. She had once feared that the death of her husband would leave her and her children without family, but she was so grateful to have been wrong. 

“ _Start with the playgrounds?”_ Bobby said, “What the hell does that mean?” 

Everybody turned at the fluttering sound they’d all become accustomed to - some more than others. “It means that Lilith is possessing the body of a child,” said Castiel. 

“Oh, that’s just fucked up,” said Dean with a look of disgust. 

“If it helps, the child was most likely already deceased.” 

Dean shook his head, “That absolutely does not help but thanks for playing, Cas.” 

Cas squinted in confusion, but before he could respond, Sam spoke, “Anyway, we need to look into tracking down the next horseman and trying to plot Lilith’s next move.” 

Everyone sat at the table, scouring every news source they could find for any sort of sign that would indicate mass death, illness or hunger. Mind numbed from the seemingly endless reading, Dean went into the kitchen to grab a beer. Wordlessly, Cas followed, causing Dean to smile to himself. 

Dean opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle and considered offering one to Cas yet again, but decided against it. He closed the refrigerator, and stood up straight, feeling self-conscious under Cas’ gaze. “I don’t know why I can never find a bottle opener in here,” Dean muttered, surveying the drawers around him. 

“Let me,” Cas said, holding out his hand, “Angel strength is far superior to that of humans.” 

Dean laughed, knowing that Cas hadn’t intended to be insulting. He held the bottle out towards Cas, who grabbed it, fingers grazing over Dean’s. He opened the bottle easily and handed it back. Dean refused to let himself think of what else that angel strength could be used for. 

When they returned to the room, several of their friends were ready to retire for the night. Bobby and Karen put on their coats and headed out the door, waving goodbye to everyone. “I should probably get to bed too,” said Mary, “If I’m going to drive Ellen and Jo back to Nebraska tomorrow.” 

“Oh,” said Cas, “I can just fly them back now if they’re ready.”

Ellen and Jo made eye contact for a moment and then turned to him with a nod, “That sounds great, thank you, Castiel” replied Ellen with a smile. 

They said their goodbyes, Dean giving the two a warning of what angel travel could do to their insides, and they were gone, leaving Dean alone with his mother, his brother and a load of research once again. He opened his laptop and dove back into the research, pointedly ignoring the looks he knew that they were giving him about his kitchen conversation with Cas.

-

A few days into their search for the next horseman, Cas showed up as Dean was working on the Impala late one night. It was dark outside but he had the garage lights on and the door open. 

“Hey Cas,” Dean said without looking up from where he was checking something under the hood. 

“You have gotten much better at detecting when I arrive,” Castiel said, sounding almost...proud. 

“I had to, if I didn’t want the shit scared outta me every time,” Dean replied as he emerged. His hands, wrists, and forearms were smeared with engine grease, as was his white shirt that he had worn. He pulled the rag from his back pocket to try and wipe as much of it off as he could. “What brings you down?” 

“We haven’t had a chance to speak since our discussion with your family,” Castiel said simply, and Dean pretended his heart didn’t skip a beat. “I promised I would make more of an effort.” 

“You did,” Dean nodded. “What do you know about cars, Cas?” 

“Only what you have told me thus far.”

“Well then, get outta that accountant get up and come here,” Dean said, gesturing to the Impala. Castiel looked unsure as he took off the trench coat and suit jacket, but did as he was told anyway. Dean rolled his eyes fondly and walked over, rolling up Cas’ sleeves for him, as well as undoing the tie. Dean did his best to not think about how close they were standing or just how easy it would be to lean in. He cleared his throat and stepped back. 

“What are you going to teach me?” Cas asked as they both approached the car. 

“Well, this big thing is the engine,” Dean started and began explaining what every part was and its purpose. Castiel listened diligently, asking questions at random intervals, and every so often repeating something back to Dean to make sure he understood it correctly. Dean was more than happy to talk about his car, eventually looking over at Cas to see the angel was watching him with a soft smile and crinkled eyes. Dean felt himself blush as he looked down at his hands, stumbling over what he was saying. “T-That’s about it.” 

“That was very fascinating Dean, thank you for sharing with me,” Cas said sincerely. “Despite watching over Earth for all these eons, I have not taken the time to really appreciate the things that humans have discovered and invented. You have given me that chance tonight and I appreciate it greatly.” 

“Ain’t no thing, Cas,” Dean shrugged. “I needed to check under here anyway, she’s a classic, she requires some delicate attention.” 

“The context does not diminish the action,” Cas responded lightly. Dean turned away so Cas wouldn’t be able to see his blush. 

“So, I made you something,” Dean said, clearing his throat. He stepped around the Impala and reached into the glovebox, pulling out a cassette tape. “Was thinking about how you hadn’t listened to any of the greats and that’s just no way to live life, Cas, so I made you this.” He told the tape out to Cas, the angel gingerly reaching forward to take it from Dean. “It plays music. You’ll need a tape deck to listen to it.” 

“Thank you for this Dean,” Castiel smiled warmly, tucking the tape into the inside pocket of his trenchcoat where it lay over the chair he draped it on earlier. “I look forward to having the chance to listen to what you consider to be the greatest music of all time.” 

“Yeah, yeah, just let me know when you finish so you can tell me how right I am,” Dean said, managing a cocky smirk. 

“I don’t need to listen to the music to tell you that, Dean,” Cas said, sending Dean spiraling once more. This was flirting, he was definitely flirting with Cas, and it seemed like Cas was flirting with him. But the guy didn’t even know what a fucking engine was, how in the world was he supposed to understand the nuances of romance? 

“You gotta have evidence to back up your claim, Cas,” Dean shook his head. “Listen first.” 

“I will, Dean, do not worry. You have given me something meaningful to yourself and I plan to cherish that.” 

Dean was going to lose his mind; if only angels were easier to get a read on. Suddenly, Cas stiffened and his face fell back to his usual stoic mask. “You got angel business?” 

“Unfortunately, yes,” Cas said, and he really did sound disappointed. Dean leaned against the Impala as Cas unrolled his sleeves and slid his layers back in place. However, once he got to the tie, he was hopeless. Dean snorted as he watched as Cas tried fruitlessly to fasten the tie and after a few moments, he took pity and invaded Cas’ personal space to tie it for him. 

“There you go, all ready for your first day of school?” Dean asked, heart thudding at Cas’ endearing look of confusion.

“I am ready to return to Heaven, yes,” Castiel said, head tilting as it often did when he was unsure of what Dean was referencing but knew it was _something_. “I shall see you soon Dean.” 

“See you too, Cas,” Dean whispered just as Cas disappeared with a rustle of wind. 

-

It was nearly a month before they got a lead on the next horseman, largely because tracking illness, hunger and death was a monumental task. 

Eventually, Ash and Jo were able to finally distinguish a pattern of a very distinct and identifiable virus that was making its way along a very specific path in the Midwest. 

“It’s Pestilence. He’s in Davenport, Iowa,” Jo said over the phone. Sam, Dean, and Mary were sitting around their kitchen table with Dean’s phone in the middle, on speaker phone. “At a nursing home, called Serenity Valley Convalescent Home. Three residents have died in the last week, all from the same thing but the coroner couldn’t actually figure out what it was.”

“Alright, thanks Jo,” Dean sighed. “Keep us updated.” He ended the call and pocketed his phone. “Sam and I are gonna go after this one, Mom.”

“No, you need someone else with you,” Mary shook her head immediately. “This is too big.”

“We’ll call Cas,” Dean said. “Have him come with us. He’s got more firepower than all of us combined.” Mary sighed but conceded to the compromise. “Alright, we’ll get packed and on the road.”

They were speeding out of Sioux Falls less than half an hour later. 

“You gonna pray to Cas or am I?” Sam asked teasingly. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dean sent Sam a glare. 

“Nothing really, just that he’s probably more likely to respond to your prayer,” Sam said with a shrug. “I mean, me and him, we’re close but it’s different than you guys.” Dean grumbled at that. 

“I’ll do it when we get closer,” he said and pressed down on the pedal. True to his word, when they were about half an hour out of Davenport, they pulled over to fill up the tank. While the gas was pumping, Dean leaned against the trunk and closed his eyes. “Alright Cas, it’s show time. We tracked down Pestilence and we could use your help. We need your help actually.”

Dean felt the familiar rush of air and when he opened his eyes, Cas was standing in front of him. “You’ve located the horsemen Pestilence?”

“Yeah, he’s hanging out in a nursing home about 30 minutes away,” Dean said. “Not sure why he gets off on killing people that are so close to the grave, but,” he shrugged. 

“Let’s go then,” Castiel said and reached for Dean’s arm, but he jerked back. 

“No, we’re not flying. We’re driving. Get in the car,” he said and gestured behind him. Cas stared at him for a long minute before he silently made his way to the passenger side and slid into the front. Dean smirked, glancing at Sam inside the store. He wasn’t gonna tell the angel to move. 

The gas pump jolted to a stop and Dean pulled it out, setting it back in its holster before sliding into the driver's seat. “So what have you been up to?”

“Dean, we spoke two days ago,” Cas said, eyes squinting in confusion. “I have been up to the same activities I was two days ago.”

“Well, you never know,” Dean said as Sam walked out of the small convenience store with a bag of water bottles and snacks. He huffed when he saw Cas in his usual seat but didn’t say anything as he got into the backseat. 

“So what’s the game plan?” Dean asked after he had pulled back onto the highway. “It’s a nursing home, not like we can just walk in.”

“I don’t suppose explaining to the staff that one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse has infiltrated their faculty and are systematically killing their residents is a good game plan?” Cas asked, glancing over at Dean. 

“No, dude, it’s really not,” Dean said with a little laugh. “We could say we’re visiting someone? But we’ll probably have to give a name. We could pose as orderlies.” 

“Cas, think you can figure out the name of a resident?” Sam asked. 

“Mildred Huntington,” Cas said easily. “She moved in recently.”

“Thanks man,” Dean said with a smile, reaching over to squeeze Cas’ knee. 

-

After successfully getting past the receptionist by impersonating Mrs. Huntington’s grandsons, the three of them began sneaking around the different hallways. “How in the world are we going to figure out which of these doctors is him?” 

“Security room?” Sam suggested. “We’ll be able to check all of them out.”

“Sounds good. Now we have to actually find it,” Dean muttered. Cas pushed past them and began leading them down a series of hallways until they were outside a door labeled ‘Security’. “Thanks man,” Dean said. “Anyone in there?”

“The room is currently empty of any occupants,” Castiel said. Dean grinned and opened the door, he and Sam heading to the monitors. They began methodically scanning each screen, looking for anything out of place. While they didn’t spot Pestilence at first, something all three of them did notice was just how...sick everyone was - residents and staff. Every person they saw was coughing or sneezing. 

“I think I found him,” Sam said after a few moments, pointing to one of the monitors. It was one of the resident’s rooms, a single doctor with them. 

But the doctor's face was suspiciously static no matter where he moved. “That’s gotta be him,” Dean agreed. “Let’s go then. What room is that?”

“2471,” Sam said, reading the time, date, and location stamp in the bottom corner. “Are we just gonna ambush him then?”

“No,” Cas said as he watched the screen. “He will likely know you two on sight, and he will be able to sense my grace as soon as I get close enough. We need a distraction. Something that will keep his focus off you two.”

“Okay, so what’s the distraction then?” Dean asked. 

“I will-”

“Absolutely fucking not,” Dean growled, cutting Cas off as soon as he realized the angel was offering _himself_ as the distraction. “You are not throwing yourself at one of the fucking horsemen like that!” 

“Dean, we need to distract him somehow,” Sam tried to reason. 

“Well it’s not gonna happen like this,” Dean said forcefully, shutting down any more opposition before they could even speak it. “So what’s Plan B?”

“I suppose that we could fake an emergency,” Cas said. “Gather everyone’s attention in one place and then grab Pestilence when no one will notice a single doctor missing. Though, that plan has far more ways to go wrong.”

“Sounds good enough for me,” Dean said with a sarcastic grin. “Since you’re not throwing yourself headfirst at someone that can kill you. So what’s our fake emergency then?”

Sam rolled his eyes and pointed to the wall where there was a fire alarm. “We just have to wait until just the right moment when he’s alone and easy to grab.”

“Perfect,” Dean looked back at the wall of monitors, locating Pestilence easily this time. “Just have to bide our time.”

Turns out, it takes a really fucking long time to _bide_. They had to wait almost three hours before Pestilence had finally retreated to his office where only his secretary was nearby. They agreed that Sam and Dean would get closer to make sure he didn’t slip out during the alarm with everybody else and Cas would actually be the one to pull the trigger. They all got into positions and on Dean’s visual command, Cas set off the fire alarm. Sam and Dean waited until they saw the secretary hurry down the hall before rushing the office door, throwing it open with their guns aimed at Pestilence as soon as they saw the demon. 

“Well, well, if it isn’t the Winchesters,” Pestilence smirked wickedly. “I was wondering when you two would show up.”

“Oh shut up with the villain monologue,” Dean groaned. “I don’t care to hear it. What I want to hear is where Lilith is.”

“I see,” Pestilence said. “Sorry, but the boss doesn’t like gossip.” Dean quirked an eyebrow. 

“So she’s in charge? Good to know, thanks for the information, but that’s not what I wanted. I asked for a location,” Dean took a few steps forward. “So start talking.”

“Nothing you puny humans can do to me will be even a modicum of what I can do,” Pestilence said, bringing his hands together, twisting his ring around his finger slowly. “After all, disease always wins. Your species can invent as many vaccines and cures as they want, but disease, bacteria? They have one purpose. To divide and conquer.”

“Man, didn’t I tell you I don’t give a fuck about your villain speech?” Dean rolled his eyes. “Either stop talking or-” Dean interrupted himself immediately with a horrid, hacking cough. 

“I should really bring tuberculosis back. That was a fun couple of decades,” Pestilence sighed wistfully. 

“Dean!” Sam rushed to his brother’s side, helping him stand up as straight as possible. 

“I wouldn’t get close now now, Sammy, he’s very contagious,” Pestilence said. “Wouldn’t want you to get anything.”

“My god, you never shut up,” Sam huffed. “Just tell me where Lilith is and I’ll make carving that ring off your finger as painless as possible.”

“You did learn some nice carving skills from Alastair,” Pestilence mused, but before he could continue, Cas popped in right behind Pestilence and wrapped his arms around the horseman. 

“Now, Sam!” Sam lunged forward and grabbed Pestilence’s hand, holding it flat on the desk with Ruby’s knife poised right above it. 

“Where is Lilith?” He seethed, glaring up at Pestilence. 

“Where do sweet little girls usually live, Sammy?” Pestilence smirked. “With their nice cookie cutter families.” Sam knew they wouldn’t get anymore from him and sliced down, cutting the finger and ring off. As soon as it was detached, Pestilence disappeared into the air. Behind them on the floor, Dean finally was able to take a deep breath. 

“You good?” Sam asked, though Cas rushed around the desk to kneel next to Dean on the floor, checking him over thoroughly. 

“I’m good, Cas,” Dean said softly, using the Angel’s help to get up off the floor. “Now lets get the fuck out of here before the fire department finds us.”

-

They decided to grab some food before making the drive back to Sioux Falls. They found a small diner not too far down the road, Sam and Dean getting their respective salad and bacon cheeseburger, while Cas simply ordered a cup of coffee that he didn’t touch. Cas and Dean sat on one side of the booth together while Sam got the other to himself. 

“So two down, two to go,” Dean said. “We gotta track down Famine and Death. How in the world do we track down Death?”

“He will likely be the hardest to find,” Cas said. “We should focus our efforts on finding Famine first.” The two men agreed and soon they were finished, Dean dropping some cash on the table before they walked out. 

“Alright, let’s get some gas and then get out of here. Cas? You staying with us a bit longer or you got other places to be?”

“I can accompany you back to Sioux Falls,” Cas said, following Dean out to the car and sliding into the passenger seat. Dean sent Sam a smirk over the car. Once they were all in, Dean began driving the route out of town, stopping at a gas station. 

“Sammy, you get the gas, I gotta take a leak,” Dean said as he got out of the car, tossing him the keys. He headed inside and got the key from the clerk before making his way around the back of the building. 

After finishing his business, he stepped outside and froze when two people were standing a few feet outside the door, staring at him. “Didn’t realize there was a line, fellas, sorry about that,” he joked, breath hitching when their eyes flashed black.

“Dean Winchester,” one of the demons spoke. “Lilith is not happy with you.”

“Add her to the list. If that’s all you’ve got, I’m just gonna,” Dean began making his way around the building but before he could get anywhere, one of the demons had him shoved against the wall, ears ringing from the impact. 

“You are an annoying little nuisance that Lilith does not need,” the other demon growled. 

“Shit,” Dean muttered. “Cas, I could really fucking use your help.”

“Praying for your angel boyfriend to come to your-” the demon holding onto him was interrupted when Cas smote him, eyes and mouth glowing bright before fading to nothing as he dropped to the ground. 

Before Dean could say anything in thanks, the other demon had thrown Castiel over their head and away from them. Dean watched in horror as Cas’ entire body wrapped around a utility pole with too many _cracks_ and _snaps_ before falling to the ground like a rag doll. Dean could do nothing but watch, eyes wide and jaw dropped. 

“Oops,” the demon mockingly, covering their mouth with one hand. “If only-” they didn’t get a chance to say anything else as Dean approached, pulling the angel blade from his waistband, and stabbed the demon through the stomach. He waited for the body to drop before rushing over to where Cas lay crumpled on the ground. 

“Cas,” he said, reaching forward to cup the other man’s face, moving it back and forth gently to try and get him to rouse. “Buddy, come on.” 

After a few tense moments, measured only by Dean’s heavy breathing, Cas grumbled and opened his eyes, “Dean…” his eyes were hazy and unfocused until he settled on Dean. 

As relief washed over him, the dam finally broke and Dean let the tears fall down his cheeks, “God dammit Cas, don’t ever do that again. I thought I lost you.” 

Cas shifted, clearly uncomfortable. “I am going to be okay but Jimmy… the man who graciously allowed me passage in his body, he did not survive.”

Dean ignored the comment, not wanting to think about the nature of angels and possession, “I don’t know what I would’ve done if we lost you,” he paused, looking directly into Cas’ eyes, “I need you, man. We all do, but I...” 

“I know, Dean,” Cas said, a small smile lighting up his face, “The bond we share...it is mutual.” Dean remained silent, hand still cupping Cas’ face. Before he thought better of it, he slowly leaned forward and brushed his lips against Cas’ in what was probably the most chaste kiss of his life. 

“I won’t break, Dean,” Cas said after they parted, though their foreheads still rested against one another. “I’m not made of glass. I’m an Angel, I’m as old as the Earth itself and my true form would incerate most that look upon it. A single kiss will not be my undoing.”

They maintained eye contact for a moment, and Dean laughed, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in, “As much as I would like to test that, let’s find Sam and get the hell out of here. This place gives me the creeps.” He stood up and offered Cas a hand to help him up, “Can you heal yourself or do you need me to do something?” 

“Oh,” said Cas, looking down at his vessel in surprise, “I didn’t even realize I was still injured.” 

Cas took a moment to heal the damage to his vessel while Dean called out for Sam, who walked around the building, asking them what had taken so long.Once everyone was healed and the bodies of the demons moved thanks to Cas, they were ready to go and piled back into the Impala. Cas and Dean shared a look, Dean shaking his head minutely to let Cas know he wasn’t quite ready to tell Sam about what exactly had gone between them. 

“So, two rings down, two to go, huh?” said Sam, repeating Dean’s words from earlier while also trying to escape the silence that filled the car, “Let’s find Famine.” Dean hummed in agreement, but Cas stayed totally silent, so Sam kept talking, “Do we know what the deal with the rings is?” 

“Well,” Cas finally spoke up, “each ring gives power to the horseman who wears it. It allows them to maintain a corporeal form, and can be used to direct their power in a concentrated path. The way that War was able to use it to cause direct conflict, or Pestilence used it to infect the people here. There are rumors that, when combined, the rings have some sort of power, but that knowledge is beyond my rank.”

“And what about the shit Pestilence was saying? About Lilith?” asked Dean gruffly, “You think we can trust it?” 

“I believe so. He implied that Lilith was living out the life of the child she is possessing, living with her family in a suburban neighborhood. Demons are very twisted in how they take pleasure, and the older they are, the more twisted they become,” Cas explained. 

“And Lilith is the first, therefore the oldest. So her idea of fun is playing house?” Dean asked incredulously. 

“I believe it is making the family play house while they are constantly terrified of her,” Cas corrected. “That is what she derives pleasure from; fear.”

“Great,” Dean rolled his eyes. “But that’s something else we can give to Ash and Jo. It’s not too much but it’ll help.”

“You want me to call Mom and fill her in or wait until we get home?” Sam asked, already pulling out his phone. Dean checked the time on the dash. 

“Call her. It’ll be late by the time we get home and even though she’s gonna stay up until we’re back, I don’t want to keep her up more by talking about everything,” Dean said. Sam nodded and was already dialing. 

“Hey Mom! Me and Dean made it out alive…” Dean let Sam’s voice fade out as he inched his right hand across the seat over to Cas. Cas glanced down and, after realizing what Dean was doing, dropped his hand down onto the seat as well, letting Dean twine their fingers together. 

-

The hunt for Famine followed a similar trajectory to that of War and Pestilence. Jo and Ash worked tirelessly to build new algorithms to track signs of excessive famine, but the prevalence of world hunger made that feat incredibly difficult. In the lull between new drops of information from the news the Winchesters were tracking, or the output of Jo and Ash’s algorithms, Cas still dropped by to spend time with Sam in the morning, even as he grew to need it less, and Dean in the evenings. 

“Sam,” Cas said, during one of those visits, “Could we go for a drive instead of a walk today? Dean gave me this… cassette tape and I don’t know how to listen to it. He said I’d need a tape deck. Can we go get one?” 

Sam let out a laugh, “We’re going to have a hard time finding one around here, I’ll order one for you online. In the meantime, we can take the Impala out and listen to it, though.” 

Cas nodded thoughtfully, “I would like that.” 

Once they got into the car, Sam set up the tape and pulled out of the driveway. Cas sat in the passenger seat and stared out the window as the unfamiliar sounds washed over him. Though Sam raised his eyebrows at some of the songs Dean had chosen - he did wonder how oblivious Cas was to not see Dean’s feelings for him - he remained silent through the duration of the mixtape. 

Sam periodically glanced over at Cas as he drove to catch any reactions, though the most emotions the angel outwardly showed was a small smile during one of the more romantic song choices.

When the mixtape ended, Cas spoke up, “Is this a common human ritual?” 

Sam debated internally for a moment, “For some people, yeah. My dad made mixtapes for every mood for my mom when they were dating.” 

-

Their big break with Famine came by accident when they were investigating a case in which two couples had killed each other - one by cannibalizing each other, and one by murder-suicide. Mary and Bobby were tied up helping Jody and Donna with a different case, but intended to drive in and help out if it wasn’t already solved by the time that they were done.

“I don’t know why you insist on driving, when I could transport us there in seconds,” Cas said grumpily from the passenger seat. 

Dean frowned, “Last time you zapped me somewhere I didn’t poop for a week. It’s freaky, man.” 

Sam snored in the back seat, oblivious to the conversation going on in front of him. “Yes,” Cas said, “I understand that, but why can’t _I_ fly and just meet you there?” 

“Because then you wouldn’t be here with me,” Dean said, blushing, pointedly resisting the urge to turn and look at Cas. 

At Cas’ request, the mixtape Dean had made him was playing through the speakers, which only made Dean’s heart beat faster, his and Cas’s hands lightly held together on the seat between them. 

-

Unsure of where to start once they had gotten to town, the three men decided the best course of action was to split up. Sam went to take a look at the crime scenes and see if he could interview friends and family of the victims, while Dean and Cas went to investigate the bodies at the morgue. 

“Just let me do all the talking and then show your badge when I do,” Dean muttered to Cas as they walked into the hospital. Cas nodded, still unsure of why they needed to lie. Once they got into the morgue, Cas began examining the bodies without even stopping to put on gloves. 

“Jesus, Cas, you’re washing your hands like, fifteen times before I’m letting you back into my car.” 

Cas ignored him, leaning in way too close to look at the human heart in his hands, “These hearts have been marked in Enochian. These marks refer to a romantic union which means that, most likely, this is the work of a rogue Cupid.” 

Dean shook his head in awe, still maintaining a distance away from the bodies he refused to admit grossed him out, “Cupid is real?” 

Cas put the heart back into its container and used his grace to clean the viscera from his hands, “Not one single Cupid, multiples. They’re a low class of angels. We need to find it before it kills again, this is incredibly abnormal.” 

Once they got back into the car, Dean leaned over and surprised Cas by gripping his face and kissing him feverishly. They were both breathing heavily when they broke apart, “What was that for?” Cas asked, clearly confused. 

“I’m not sure,” Dean said, “I guess I just really wanted to kiss you.” 

Before they could discuss it more, Dean’s phone rang with a call from Sam, “Hey, are you guys done?” asked Sam, “Mom called to let me know that she and Bobby will be in sometime this evening.” 

“Yeah,” Dean replied, pulling out of the parking lot, “We’re headed back to the motel now. The hearts have some kind of Enochian markings on them, Cas says that it seems like a Cupid is behind all of this. We’ll see you in a few.” 

-

Once Mary and Bobby arrived, they all headed out to the bars at Cas’ suggestion that the cupid would be drawn to places with high levels of “human reproductive urges”. Bobby and Mary took the bar nearest the motel, while Cas, Sam and Dean took the larger bar in the center of town. 

They claimed one of the tables in the corner of the room, choosing a spot where they could survey everyone in the room. They placed orders for appetizers, and waited for something to happen. It became obvious fairly quickly that something was wrong. The people around them behaved as if they had never been in public before, some were shoving food down their throats as if they’d been starved for weeks, while others pulled from bottles of hard alcohol with a total lack of restraint. Worse still, were the couples groping and grinding helplessly as if nobody could see them. 

And it seemed Dean and Cas weren’t unaffected. Dean had kept his hand high up on Cas’ thigh since they sat down, leaning into his side. The only thing stopping him from launching a full-on attack on Cas’ lips was his brother sitting across from them.

“The Cupid is here,” Cas said, interrupting the collective stunned silence, “I can sense him. Meet me out back.” 

After Cas disappeared, Sam and Dean gathered up their things and dropped a few bills on the table. Sam sent Mary a quick text that they had found the Cupid, and they headed out to the alley behind the restaurant. Dean yelled out when a laughing, naked man tackled him in an approximation of a bear hug. 

“What the fuck?!” Dean exclaimed, glaring as the man approached Sam in the same manner. Cas let out a sigh.

“This is a cupid, and that,” he said, gesturing at the man’s vice-like grip on Sam, “Is how they greet people.” 

When the Cupid finally put Sam down, Dean advanced on him with an angel blade, “You’re going to tell us what the hell you’ve been doing to people and why, or I’m going to kill you right here.” 

“Dean, wait,” Cas said, “Look, he has no idea what you’re talking about.” 

Cas was right; the Cupid was crying, drawing in gasping breaths as he sobbed, clearly deeply frightened by Dean’s actions. Cas turned to address the Cupid directly as Dean lowered the blade and backed away, “Do you know how your charges are being corrupted and convinced to kill each other?” 

The question only made the Cupid cry harder. After they finally calmed him down, he was able to tell them that he had no idea why his charges would be killing each other, and they allowed him to leave. They walked back to the Impala, and started back for the motel to reconvene with Bobby and Mary to determine what was causing the deaths, if not the cupid. 

“Guys, what if this is Famine?” Sam asked suddenly, sitting up straighter in the passenger seat, “And it’s not just food that people are hungry for? Maybe it’s like… people overindulge on the one thing they’re craving? Maybe Famine is somehow able to corrupt the spell that Cupid put on them.” 

-

They crowded into one motel room with Bobby and Mary as Sam explained his theory, which Cas corroborated, “I am certain that the Cupid is not responsible for this, especially after the displays we saw in the bar. I’ve never seen anything like that.” 

“I didn’t even know Cupids were real,” mused Mary fingers tapping on her knee anxiously, “I’m surprised I’ve never come across one before.” 

Cas smiled fondly, “Oh, you have. You and John were destined to mate - to create Sam and Dean - and you crossed paths with a Cupid many years ago to ensure that happened.” 

The mention of John resulted in an uncomfortable silence, so Bobby spoke up, “So how do we go about tracking Famine down, then? Do we actually know anything about it?” 

“ _And then will come Famine, riding on a black steed. He will ride into the land of plenty and great will be the Horseman's hunger, for he is hunger. His hunger will seep out and poison the air.”_ Cas recited. 

“War’s ‘red horse’ was a ‘65 Mustang so I’m willing to bet Famine’s steed will be similar,” said Sam. 

“Great,” Dean scoffed, “Let’s keep our eyes out for a black car. That should be easy.” 

“ _The land of plenty”_ Mary quoted, “That’s another clue, too.” 

Unfortunately, there were too many interpretations of _land of plenty_ to really narrow it down - it could be a restaurant, bar, big box store, anything really - and there were too many demons scattered throughout town for Cas to get a good read on where Famine was holing up. 

So it was a good thing when two demons knocked on their motel room door. 

Cas was answering the door before any of the humans could. “Give me one reason not to smite you where you dare to stand in front of me.” 

“We’re here to take you to the big man in charge,” one of the demons smirked. “You smite us, you don’t find Famine.” Cas took a deep breath and turned to meet Dean’s eyes, who just nodded once, solemnly. 

“Do not think that I will hesitate to end your existence if you try anything,” Cas said with a tilt of his head. “Now, where is Famine?” 

“Follow us,” the other demon said and headed out to the van parked next to the Impala - a large black Cadillac.

“Guess there’s his black steed,” Dean muttered as he slid into the Impala, Sam and Cas joining him while Mary and Bobby got into the older man’s truck. They trailed the SUV into town, and as they got closer to wherever Famine was, the more Dean was compelled to just reach over to Cas and pull him into a kiss. 

Thankfully, they parked in front of a restaurant before Dean could crash the car indulging himself. As they climbed out, Bobby had a bottle of whiskey in his hand - God knows where he got it - and was taking large swigs, while Mary’s fingers were twitching and she glanced around quickly. Before any of them could stop her, she had taken off across the street to a liquor store. 

“The boss doesn’t like to be kept waiting,” one of the demons said, eyebrows raised. 

“I’ll wait for Mary,” Bobby told them between gulps. “You three go on in.” Sam nodded and followed the two demons into the restaurant, past the host stand. There were bodies littered around the dining room, some undressed, some covered in food, vomit, or blood. Just as they stepped into the back of the dining area, there was a large thump behind him and he turned to see Dean had Cas pressed against the wall and was furiously kissing him, Cas’ hands on Dean’s ass, trying to pull him closer. 

Sam turned quickly, wishing he could erase the last few seconds from his memory. 

However, as soon as he saw who was sitting in the middle of the room, all thoughts of his horny brother and angel best friend vanished because there was Famine. 

Famine appeared much different than his brothers. While War and Pestilence were both strong, healthy, able-bodied men, Famine was old and frail, confined to an electric wheelchair with an oxygen tank strapped to the back. 

“It’s so nice to finally meet _the_ Sam Winchester. You’re a legend among demons, you know? The man who started the apocalypse and gave us the chance to raise Lucifer once more,” when Famine spoke it was slow and heavy, as if every word pained him. 

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t my intention, was it?” Sam said warily. He wasn’t sure what Famine’s game was - bringing them here knowing they were hunting him and his ring. 

“Don’t you want to know, Sam Winchester?” Famine asked, letting out a gut-wrenching cough. 

“Know what?” 

“Why my powers don’t affect you?” Famine smiled. “Or do you already know? Do you know what you want more than anything?” 

“It’s not a mystery,” Sam huffed, glancing around. There were too many demons to fight on his own - and he truly was on his own until Famine was gone. 

“Not quite, but there was a bit of intrigue. Because at first I thought it would be your pretty little girlfriend that was killed. What was her name? Joy?” Famine clasped his hands together, looking up at Sam with a cruel grin. 

“Her name was Jess,” Sam growled, hand itching to grab the demon knife from his belt but he knew he had to wait for the right moment. 

“Right right, Jessica,” Famine pondered as he curled his hands over the armchairs of his wheelchair. “But that’s not who you desire is it? No, she’s not who you want. It’s the one that’s still down in the Pit, still suffering for eternity because you couldn’t keep one simple prom-” Sam lunged forward and cleanly sliced off three of Famine’s fingers - the ring on one of them - before any of the demons could take action. 

The next few moments were a blur. Famine disappeared in front of him, the demons attacked but before they could reach Sam, they were on the ground, Cas standing over two of them, hands still on their heads while Dean had his angel blade buried in the gut of another, Colt smoking in his hand and aimed at the final demon that was flat on a table across the room. 

“Thanks,” Sam muttered, bending down to pick up Famine’s ring from the floor. “One more to go.” 

-

Sam, Dean, and Cas met Mary and Bobby outside the restaurant - Bobby with an empty bottle and Mary smelling strongly of nicotine. “That’s what you disappeared for?” Dean asked. “Cigarettes?”

“I didn’t know you even smoked,” Sam said, tucking his hands in his jacket pockets. 

“I quit when I found out I was pregnant with Dean. It wasn’t something I wanted my babies around, even if your father disagreed. He still smoked a pack a day,” Mary said with a small laugh. “It’s not something I’m very proud of.” 

“We all have our vices, mom, nothing to be ashamed of,” Dean said and kissed her cheek before gagging. “But damn do you need a shower now. So do you, old man, you smell like a liquor store.” Bobby rolled his eyes. 

“Then I suppose we better get back to the motel,” he said as he was already walking to his truck. Mary followed suit. 

“We’ll meet you back there,” she told her boys, giving each Dean and Sam a kiss on the cheek. Cas waited until the two had driven off before turning to Dean. 

“I must return to Heaven and tell them of the events that unfolded,” he said apologetically. “I will be as quick as I can.”

“It’s alright Cas, I get it. Gotta report to the bosses,” Dean smiled a little and figured in for a penny, in for a pound - they had already been outed - and leaned in, kissing Cas goodbye. “Take care of yourself.” 

“You as well, Dean,” Cas said, returning the smile before he disappeared with a small gust of wind. Dean turned to look at Sam, chuckling a bit when his brother was just staring at him wide-eyed and speechless. 

“What are you staring at, Sammy? Never seen two guys kiss before?” Dean asked with a smug grin, unlocking the Impala and getting in the driver’s seat. Sam rushed over and yanked the passenger side door open, practically throwing himself in. 

“What the fuck was that?” He yelled at Dean, mouth slack and breathing heavy. 

“What do you mean? It was me and Cas,” Dean said with a shrug. “It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve kissed him.” 

“Well yeah, considering you were two layers of denim away from fucking him over a table in that resturant!” 

“Well, yeah, but before all this,” Dean pulled onto the road and began heading back for the motel. “Are you hungry? I don’t really think I am after what we’ve seen but…”

“You kissed him before? How long have you been kissing him?” Sam’s voice was strained and stressed.

“Since Pestilence, Sammy,” Dean looked over, brows furrowed. “Did you really not know?” 

“Obviously not!” Sam turned to stare forward at the road quickly. “Oh my god.” 

“Listen, Sammy-”

“Nope, we’re waiting until we can talk to Mom,” Sam shook his head. He remained silent the rest of the journey back to the motel. Luckily, she was showered and redressed by the time they arrived, so Sam just threw himself onto one of the beds. 

“Boys?” Mary asked, glancing between them.

“Did you know that he and Cas were a thing?” Sam asked indignantly. 

“What? No, I did not,” Mary turned to look at her eldest. “You two are together?” 

“Yes! How did neither of you know?” Dean asked, genuinely surprised that both Mary and Sam had missed that. He didn’t think he was that subtle. “Sam, I know he asked you to help him with the mixtape, and that thing reads like a fucking rom-com soundtrack!” 

“You made him a mixtape?” Mary asked, smiling softly. “Oh, Dean, that’s so sweet. What was on it?” 

“Fucking Elvis, Mom,” Sam groaned. “How did I not know?” 

“You can’t see past your hair?” Dean suggested, pulling a new set of clothes from his bag. “Now, I’m gonna take a shower, you two can continue discussing my sex life if you want, but I’m not gonna be a part of it.” Dean smiled gleefully at Sam’s shouts of disgust and protests as he closed the door to the bathroom. 

-

The next afternoon, after they had returned to Sioux Falls, Dean asked Sam if they could talk. They headed out to the back porch where Mary was already waiting with three beers. “What is this?” 

“I may have been...distracted,” Dean said. “But I still heard Famine. When he talked about why you weren’t under his influence.”

It was silent for a long time, Sam just staring down at the table as he thought about how he wanted to tell this part of his story. “I’ve told you about Hell. And what I went through and what I did. But I kind of skipped over a big part of it,” Sam admitted. 

“Bela,” Dean confirmed. “You mentioned her before and you say her name in your sleep all the time. And what Alastair said about her in that church? I always figured there was more than you were telling.”

“A lot more,” Sam whispered. “I didn’t see her for the first 30 years. We were both too busy being tortured. But...one day, Alastair said he had a new form of torture to try. And he brought in Bela. And he tortured her in front of me and that’s...that’s when I said yes. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t watch him hurt her.”

“Sam, no one blames you for saying yes to Alastair,” Mary said. “Not me, not Dean, or Bobby or Karen or Jody or Donna. We all know that what you went through, it’s not something any of us can ever comprehend. And seeing something like that happen to someone you care about...I would have said yes in a heartbeat if it was to save one of you two.”

“That’s not all though,” Sam wiped his nose. “After I said yes, she did too. And when you’re good at...what Alastair did, you got rewarded. Time off, that kind of thing. And so we saw each other, not very often, just a few times. But we got close. She...she was all I had down there.”

“And she’s what you want most,” Mary said softly. “That’s why Famine didn’t affect you. Because she’s still in Hell.” Sam just nodded. 

“The last time I saw her, I promised I would save her. It was just before Cas pulled me out, I...told Alastair I would start drinking demon blood,” he ignored Mary’s gasp. “My plan was to eventually overpower him.”

“Did you ever…” Mary trailed off, afraid to finish her question. 

“No, Cas got to me before I ever drank a single drop,” Sam said. “But…she’s still down there. She doesn’t deserve to be stuck there. I promised I would get her out and I will. After all this apocalypse shit is done, I’m saving Bela.”

-

The day after Sam’s confession, Dean was on the steps of their back porch when Cas appeared in front of him. 

“Hello Dean,” Cas said with a small smile, moving forward to sit next to Dean on the steps. “Have you all recovered from Famine?” 

“Yeah, we’re all good. My desire to jump your bones isn’t any more than normal,” Dean joked, knocking his shoulder into Cas’. “Speaking of, I guess cat’s outta the bag. Mom and Sam know about us now. Though, we weren’t really being subtle before.”

“That expression does not make sense,” Cas said with a frown. “Why was there a cat in a bag?” Dean laughed and pulled Cas close as he leaned in, kissing him soundly. 

“It’s just a phrase angel, don’t know where it came from,” Dean muttered, pressing kisses to Cas’ jaw. 

“That is not true. Every phrase on Earth has an origin and meaning, human,” Cas said stubbornly. Dean pulled back quickly, eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Cas. 

“What the hell did you just call me?” He asked after a short pause. 

“Human. You called me Angel. I assumed we were using each other’s species to address one another,” Cas said simply. Dean dropped his head onto Cas’ shoulder as he laughed, a deep belly laugh that made Cas smile to hear. 

“Nah man, angel is a term of endearment. Like baby or honey or something,” Dean explained, pressing his face into Cas’ neck. 

“Similar to how you address your car as Baby,” Cas said, causing Dean to smirk a little.

“Similar yeah, but not the same,” he whispered. “Wouldn’t be doing this to my car.” Dean began pressing his lips along the vein in Cas’ neck. 

“N-no I suppose you would not,” Cas said weakly, unable to stop himself from leaning into the touch. 

“I call you angel,” Dean moved up to Cas’ jaw and then cheek. “Because you’re _my_ Angel.”

“Oh,” Cas whispered, letting his hands, which had previously sat awkwardly on his knees, come up to grip Dean's arms. “And are you mine?”

Dean pulled back to look Cas in the eyes as he grinned. “Hell yes I am.”

-

As it turned out, they didn’t need to find Death, because he found them. Sam and Dean were sitting in a relatively empty diner in the middle of the night, nursing shitty black coffee and dry scrambled eggs when the bell hanging from the door rang out, letting them know someone had walked in. They took no notice of his entrance beyond that until he walked over to them, stopping beside their table. 

Hand on the Colt, Dean turned to face the man, “You need something, buddy?” 

“Dean Winchester,” the man said cooly, “You’d do well to treat me with a bit of respect.” 

“Uh-huh,” Dean replied sarcastically, “See, when some creep dressed like a Mormon who dabbles in serial murder walks up to me and addresses me by name, respect isn’t my first response. Start talking before I shoot you.” 

The man let out a laugh, “Oh and what, I’ll die?” 

Sam’s eyes flicked down to the man’s hand, noticing his ring, “Dean,” when Dean’s attention turned to him, Sam spoke quietly, “It’s Death.” 

At that, the man slid into the booth next to Sam. He beckoned for a waitress and when she walked over, he ordered enough breakfast food to feed at least 5 people. After the waitress walked away, he turned back to Dean, “Let me just get to the point here, I know what you’ve done to my brothers and I know why you’ve done it, but you’re not going to do that to me.” 

Dean tried to reply, but Death spoke over him, “Personally, I don’t want Lilith to free Lucifer either, so tell me, what do you plan to do to keep that from happening?” 

The waitress returned to the table and placed Death’s food in front of him, “Can I get you boys anything else?” 

“No thanks,” Sam replied with a tight smile. 

Once she was safely out of earshot, Sam spoke up, “We figured we’d just...shoot her? Or exorcise her?” 

“You’re just going to walk in there and shoot her,” Death deadpanned, “I’m sure she wouldn’t see that coming.”

“Well,” Dean started, “We have a knife that could work too…”

Death ignored him, “Besides, depending on how much longer you sit around doing nothing, killing her could be the wrong move. Didn’t that pet angel of yours tell you that her death is the final seal? Do you even know _why_ you’ve been collecting our rings?” 

Sam and Dean looked at each other with matching expressions of confusion and mild panic. “Evidently not,” said Death, after a prolonged pause, “When combined, our rings serve as a key to open Lucifer’s cage. You see, at first, Lilith didn’t know that her death would be the final seal, but once she found out, she desperately sought a different solution. She’s willing to die for it, but if she can help it… she’ll take the rings.”

Dean furrowed his brows, “And why are you telling us this, exactly? Your brothers or whatever gave us nothing but trouble.” 

“I am inclined to extend a bit of kindness toward you for sparing my reapers when Alastair tried to kill them. I can always make more, but it’s a burden. I also believe that you two are, unfortunately, our best hope to avoid the apocalypse.”

-

Armed with Death’s ring and a tracking spell Death had given them to find Lilith, Sam and Dean got back into the Impala. Dean paused for a second and then threw the keys to Sam, “I’m going to pray to Cas,” he said by way of explanation as he walked away. Sam nodded and slid into the driver’s seat, turning on the car. 

Dean returned to the car, this time with Cas in tow. Sam wasn’t surprised in the slightest when Dean crawled into the back of the Impala next to Cas, rather than choosing the open passenger seat. 

“Did you get a lead on Lilith?” Cas asked, looking between the brothers. 

Sam pulled the car back onto the highway, letting Dean explain the entire situation to Cas. He pointedly ignored them and turned up the radio when he couldn’t make out the sound of their voices anymore. About an hour into the drive back to Sioux Falls, Cas told the brothers that he was needed back in Heaven, and disappeared in a flutter of wings. 

Dean nodded off to sleep as Sam drove, only to wake up when the car swerved on wet pavement, “You better not wreck my car, Sammy,” he said gruffly. 

“This weather is fucking awful,” Sam replied, “I think we should stop somewhere for the night and wait it out.” 

Sam drove carefully for a bit, finally pulling off the highway when they saw a sign advertising a motel. They expected it to be like the typical motels they stayed in, seedy and desolate. This one, on the other hand, was decadent and bustling, something completely unexpected in the middle of the night in the midwest. 

Sam and Dean exchanged curious eye contact, “Maybe there’s some kind of convention,” Sam suggested. They were promptly checked in and given the key to their room, which turned out to be just as luxurious as the rest of the hotel had been. Dean flopped down on one of the beds, praying to Cas so that he knew where they were. 

Sam typed up a text to Mary, cursing when the message refused to deliver. “I guess even in a nice place like this, the midwest still has shitty cell service,” Dean said. 

“Don’t you think this is a little weird?” asked Sam, “Why would there be a hotel this nice in the middle of nowhere? How the hell do they stay in business?” 

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, Sammy,” Dean replied, “We get a night off in a nice place for once, let’s just enjoy it.”

On cue, Sam and Dean heard the tell-tale sounds of intercourse coming from the next room, headboard slamming rhythmically against the wall as grunts and groans permeated the thin walls that separated their rooms. “Like that,” Dean said, “They seem to be enjoying themselves just fine.” 

When several of the bricks fall out of the wall as a result of the couple’s actions, Sam and Dean are surprised to say the least. “You ever have that happen?” Sam asked Dean skeptically, “Or would you say something abnormal is happening now.” 

“Dammit,” Dean said, getting up off the bed, “Is it really too much to ask for one fucking day off?” 

-

Once in the hallway, Sam and Dean were shocked to find the door to the room next to them wide open, empty of any occupants. They walked through the rest of the hallway, only to discover that every other room in the hallway. An exploration of the rest of the hotel proved much of the same, as if everyone they’d seen just an hour earlier had vanished into thin air. 

Dean stepped aside for a moment to pray, “Cas, if you’ve got a minute, we could use some help here. Something weird is going on. We’re at The Elysian Fields Hotel in Indiana… I’m not sure what, exactly, but something is up.” 

By the time Dean was done praying, he found himself totally alone in the hallway, Sam, somehow nowhere to be found. “Sam!” he yelled, running into the lobby of the hotel to see if he could find someone, anyone.

A flicker of light caught his eye as he passed one of the hotel’s conference rooms. With little regard for his own personal safety, he flung open the door, totally unprepared for the situation he was getting himself into. 

The first thing his eyes registered was Sam, tied to a chair in the center of the room. He surged forward, knife ready to cut Sam free of his bindings. “Dean, no!” Sam yelled out, at the same time that a woman stepped forward, pushing him back with surprising strength. Dean slashed at her with an angel blade, surprised that it had no effect. He reached into his waistband and aimed the Colt at her. 

The woman recoiled at that, “Easy, mortal, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” 

Dean scanned the room to see that several other … beings lined the walls - some that appeared to be human, and some that had less-than-human features. “What the fuck did we stumble across? Did I miss the memo about a furry convention here?” 

“ _Dean,_ ” Sam hissed, “These are deities - Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Nordic...were you really going to shoot Artemis with the Colt?” 

Dean sighed, closing his eyes, “It’s always gotta be something, huh? What do you assholes want from us?” 

One of the human-like men stalked towards Dean, significantly taller than him, taller than Sam, even, “You incompetent mortals are the reason the apocalypse is looming on the horizon, and you expect us not to blame you for it?” 

“Man, I don’t even know who the fuck you are, and you expect me to sit here and kiss your ass? Why aren’t you out there trying to stop the apocalypse?” Dean retorted, with a roll of his eyes. 

“I am Odin, and the only reason I have yet to smite you, is out of respect for the archangel Michael’s desire not to have to rebuild his vessel when the time comes.” 

Sam and Dean exchanged a glance, confusion evident on both of their faces. When neither of them answered, the deity spoke again, “As for stopping the apocalypse, what would you have us do? A few centuries ago, we could’ve done it with the snap of our fingers but now -” he let out a humorless laugh, “You mortals indulge yourselves in the simplest pleasures, in sex, or wealth, all of the things life has to offer without a single thought of gratitude towards those of us who made it possible. Why should we care about the perils you face, when saving you could come at the cost of our lives?” 

While Odin regaled Dean with his villain monologue, Sam had broken free of the ropes that bound him to the chair. He surged forward and situated himself next to Dean, Ruby’s knife angled to stab anyone who challenged him. “Yes, I unintentionally broke the first seal, but we intend to stop this apocalypse before it happens. We have the Four Horsemen’s rings, we have a spell to track down Lilith, we’re doing our best,” Sam said, almost pleading. 

Several of the deities exchanged looks, contemplating the Winchester’s plea. One of the deities - with the body of a man and a distinctly canine head - approached them menacingly, “You’ve had your chances, there will be other humans.” 

“Set,” one of the female deities warned, “Michael wouldn’t want his vessel to be damaged.” 

“When is the last time someone even heard from an archangel? Who knows if any of them are still alive?” spat out the god, Set. 

Several of the deities nodded at that and began murmuring among themselves. “What do we do?” Dean hissed to Sam. 

Sam looked around the room, noting that the gods seemed to be arguing over a wide range of topics, “I think we run,” replied Sam. 

They got as far as the lobby before the assortment of deities noticed that they had left, at which point they were seized and taken back to the room. They stood back to back, weapons raised as an assortment of gods - both known and unknown to them - advanced. Dean closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, “Cas if you can hear me, I _love_ you, man. We’re about to die here, I don’t know where you are but I needed you to know before I die.” 

The air around them pulsed with a kind of energy that neither of the brothers had ever felt before, despite their frequent proximity to Cas, and other supernatural beings. Sam supposed, off-handedly, that the shift was due to the fact that these beings were far more powerful than any they had encountered before. Dean mentally inventoried the number of Colt bullets he had with him, knowing that it was far from enough to get them out of the room alive. He reached out and squeezed Sam’s arm briefly, as much of a goodbye as he was going to get. 

Just as the circle of angry deities converged on them, pressing ever closer, a voice from the crowd shouted, thundering impossibly over the clamoring of weapons and murmurs. 

“ _Wait”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, I'm on tumblr @hazloveshisboo and Grace is @hellerjesuschrist !!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the smutty chapter, I believe there's two sex scenes and one sex dream, so buckle up for this one.

The room fell silent at the outburst, all heads turned to a brown-haired man that neither Sam nor Dean could identify. 

“Do you know of any other humans who could do this?” the man asked, “In all of your millennia on Earth, have you ever seen humans with spirit anywhere near as resilient as the Winchesters?” 

The room remained silent, so the man - the god - continued, “These men, the Righteous Men, who were crafted to be archangel vessels, can’t just be cast aside like trash. Don’t you know how hard Heaven had to work in order to create them?” 

“Loki,” one of the other deities spoke up, “God is gone, nobody has seen an archangel in centuries. Lucifer is in the cage, Gabriel is dead, nobody knows where Michael and Raphael are. Why should we waste our time in preserving their vision, when they couldn’t be bothered to realize that vision themselves? Maybe it’s time to be rid of humans once and for all - they were always God’s worst creation anyway.” 

Loki let out a laugh, “You want all humans eradicated? Say goodbye to the meager selection of worshippers we have. Do you want to take a chance on that? Are you content to spend eternity chasing your former glory in the hopes that some other species will step up to worship you?” 

The deities murmured among themselves, clearly unsure of how to respond to the idea of being forgotten after holding a modicum of power for as long as they could recall. Loki spoke again, “Give them a chance to stop the apocalypse, because you know as well as I that they are our best shot.” 

-

After Sam and Dean returned home from the Elysian Fields Hotel, Sam headed inside to explain everything to Mary while Dean headed to the backyard. He sat on the steps of the porch and closed his eyes. “Cas, I need to talk to you.” Dean didn’t have to open his eyes to know the angel was seated next to him.

“You prayed?” Cas said. Dean glanced over at him, mouth set in a frown. “What has angered you?”

  
“Good to know you have selective hearing,” he grumbled. “Would have been nice to have your help when a bunch of gods were trying to kill me and Sam.” 

“What? What are you talking about?” Cas turned his entire body to face Dean, eyes wide in surprise. 

“Like six hours ago? When Sam and I were stuck in that motel? We prayed to you, Cas, and you didn’t do a damn thing,” Dean snapped, jerking back so Cas wouldn’t touch him. 

“Dean, I haven’t received a prayer from yourself or Sam for more than 24 hours,” Cas said. “If you were praying to me, I did not hear it. I am sorry I could not help you. I will always come when you call.” 

“You really couldn’t hear us?” Cas shook his head somberly. “You didn’t hear any of my prayers? Nothing?” Dean waited for Cas to confirm, feeling a weight lift off his shoulder. He didn’t want to tell Cas that he loved him for the first time while he was about to die, not really. “Shit, man, I’m sorry for yelling.” 

“It is alright Dean,” Cas said and reached over, taking Dean’s hand in his. “To your knowledge, I was ignoring you. I’m sure whatever gods were present had protected the building to keep me from interfering.” Dean smiled a little and leaned over, pressing a kiss to Cas’ lips. 

“Thanks for showing up now,” he whispered, foreheads still resting against each other. 

“As I said Dean, I will always come when you call,” Cas reassured him. “Now I would like it if you would tell me about the gods that were attempting to kill you and Sam.” Dean sighed and launched into the story of what went down at the hotel and how they got out. 

“Basically we gotta gank Lilith before she breaks the 65th seal,” Dean finished. “How many we got left?” 

“To my knowledge, less than ten. We must find her and dispose of her quickly,” Cas said. “We should use the location spell that Death-”

“Not tonight,” Dean interrupted Cas. “We need some rest. Or rather, me and Sam do.”

“Of course,” Cas agreed. “Humans require eight hours of sleep per night to remain at optimal condition.” Dean laughed, leaning in to press a kiss to Cas’ jaw. “I shall leave you.” 

“Not yet,” Dean whispered. “I’ve missed you. We haven’t gotten to spend much time together this past week.” 

“I’ve seen you almost every day,” Cas frowned. 

“Well yeah, but it was always with other people around. We haven’t gotten any alone time,” Dean pulled Cas into another kiss. “Come on.” Cas followed Dean obediently into the garage, their hands still intertwined. Once the door had shut behind them, Dean wasted no time in pinning Cas to the side of the Impala, attaching their lips feverishly. 

“Dean,” Cas muttered, his hands grabbing Dean’s hips tightly, keeping the other man from grinding against him. “Are you sure?” 

“I love that you ask me every time, angel, I promise I’m sure,” Dean kissed down the expanse of Cas’ neck, tugging the trench coat and suit jacket down in order to bite at the more sensitive skin. “You gonna let these marks stay?” 

“I suppose I could,” Cas’ already deep voice was somehow even more so, leaving Dean weak in the knees. Good thing that’s where he was going to end up anyway.    
  


“Good, I like having proof you’re mine.” 

“And you’re mine,” Cas said, squeezing Dean’s hips in his grip. Dean bit down with a soft moan, making sure to leave a mark on Cas’ skin.    
  


“I’m always yours,” he said breathlessly, trailing his lips along Cas’ shirt collar. He didn’t try to undress him any further - something about taking Cas apart while he was still fully dressed just  _ did  _ something to Dean. “Gonna let me suck you?” 

“Whatever you desire, Dean,” Cas panted. Dean smirked, licking up a bead of sweat that had dripped down Cas’ neck before falling to his knees in front of his angel. He trailed his hands up Cas’ thighs, letting his thumb brush over his bulge. Cas bucked his hips minutely, fighting hard to keep still for Dean. 

“It’s okay, Cas,” Dean said, mouth-watering in anticipation. He unbuttoned and unzipped Cas’ slacks, leaving them to hang open as he leaned forward, pressing his mouth against Cas’ briefs, breathing deeply. He loved doing this for Cas, making his angel feel good in ways that no one else ever had. “Want you to take what you want.” 

“Are you sure?” Cas asked once more as Dean tugged the waistband of Cas’ underwear down with one hand, using his other to pull Cas’ cock free. 

“One hundred percent,” Dean groaned, licking from the base to the tip. “I’m yours, Cas. Prove it.” That seemed to be exactly what Cas needed to hear. As soon the words left Dean’s mouth, Cas had one hand tangled in his hair, holding his head steady. Dean dropped his mouth open without a word, looking up at Cas through his eyelashes, silently begging to be  _ used _ . 

  
Cas wasn’t going to disappoint. 

  
He stroked himself a few times before placing the head on Dean’s tongue. Dean’s breath hitched, letting his mouth widen slightly. He wanted to feel Cas in his throat, wanted to have trouble speaking the next morning. 

“You’re always beautiful,” Cas muttered as he finally sank into Dean’s mouth, taking his time. “But you’re ethereal like this.” All Dean could manage was half a nod, hands clenching around Cas’ thighs, fingers digging into the starch fabric of his slacks. Cas used the hand on Dean’s head to guide him further down his length, finally stopping when Dean’s lips were at the base and his nose buried in pubic hair. 

Dean prided himself on his ability to suck a dick - he had worked on his gag reflex for months in his younger days - but he had never been so grateful until he had met Cas. He had never wanted to please his partner more than he wanted to please his angel, give him the best of everything. 

  
Dean stayed as motionless as he could, eyes beginning to water as Cas held him down on his cock. Cas finally relented, dragging Dean’s head back until just the head was between Dean’s lips.

Before he could stop himself, Dean whined. Cas smirked - just a little - and began to fuck into Dean’s mouth, only moving halfway down his cock before pulling out again. He kept his pace slow, teasing himself and Dean more than anything. 

Dean whimpered when Cas pulled out completely, leaving him drooling precum and spit onto his chin. “Cas,” he pleaded, voice already shaky and rough. Cas moved his hand further down to Dean’s neck and plunged his cock back into Dean’s mouth and throat. His pace was much more brutal this time, fucking deep, balls slapping Dean’s chin with the force of his thrusts. 

Dean was throbbing inside his own underwear as Cas used him, used his mouth. He dropped one of his hands to his own crotch, palming himself as Cas fucked his throat. Just as Dean was about to shove his hand into his pants, Cas yanked him off his cock. “Put your hand on me.” 

  
Even though Dean knew Cas didn’t mean it as an order, Dean still followed it obediently, removing his hand from himself and wrapping it around Cas’ length, jerking him off quickly. He knew what his angel wanted, even if he would never say it out loud. Cas loved claiming Dean in any way possible, loved leaving marks and bruises all over his skin. He loved seeing proof that Dean belonged to him. 

He loved covering Dean in his come. 

Dean watched Cas with wide eyes as he stroked him, watched him fall apart because of  _ him _ . “Come on, Cas, want you to come. Come all over me, please.” Dean’s voice was hoarse and it hurt just a bit to talk, but he wanted Cas to know how much he wanted this too. “Please, angel.” 

Dean wasn’t sure if it was the pet name or the begging, but Cas finally let go. Dean closed his eyes and dropped his mouth open just in time to feel Cas spill over his face. He could feel strands land on his tongue, cheeks, and eyebrows, leaving him thoroughly covered. 

Dean finally opened his eyes to look up at Cas, refraining from swallowing just yet so Cas could enjoy the sight just a bit longer. Cas was staring down at him, panting heavily as his cock softened against his thigh and he leaned back against the Impala. He reached down slowly, cupping Dean’s jaw to push it closed. Dean swallowed what was in his mouth, drooping forward to let Cas hold his weight. 

“Come up here,” Cas said, holding both hands out for Dean to use as he struggled to his feet. “You look so beautiful like this. Covered in my ejaculate.” 

“I told you not to call it that,” Dean groaned. Cas ignored him and rubbed a hand over Dean, feeling the bulge of his pants. 

“You have not reached orgasm yet,” Cas said plainly. 

“Yeah no shit, I was a little busy,” Dean rolled his eyes but before he could continue, Cas had lifted him by the backs of his thighs and deposited him on the hood of the Impala. 

“Spread your legs,” Cas said, and when Dean did so, he easily undid his jeans. Dean moaned quietly as Cas reached into his underwear and rubbed over his cock a few times before pulling it out so he could stroke him. 

Dean dropped his head back as Cas worked him over, wrapping his legs around his angel to pull him closer. “Cas, please, oh fuck,” he babbled. Even though Cas’ only experience with sex had been with Dean, he was a quick learner and already knew all the easiest, quickest, and best ways to get Dean off. 

“Cas, fuck me, holy shit,” Dean gasped as Cas twisted his wrist  _ just right _ . “Gonna...gonna come Cas, please!” 

“Is that something you’d want, Dean?” Cas asked, not relenting in the movement of his hand at all.

“What?” Dean wasn’t in the right mind to be answering any kind of question. 

  
“For me to fuck you,” Cas said simply, but to Dean it was the hottest thing he had ever heard - Cas saying the word fuck in that gravely voice of his. 

“Yes, yes! Shit, it is,” Dean rolled his hips into Cas’ grasp to try and urge the angel to go faster but he didn’t budge. “Please, Cas, it is, want you to fuck me so bad, fuck me over the hood of this car. Just bend me over and take me, please! 

Cas watched him with hooded eyes for a long moment. “Not tonight,” he eventually decided but at last took mercy on Dean and sped his hand up. 

“Cas!” Dean shouted and grabbed Cas’ wrist with the hand that wasn’t holding him up against the car, coming over both their hands as his entire body convulsed, eyes fluttering shut and mouth dropping open. Cas worked him over until he fell limp in his hold and only then removed his hand, pulling Dean forward so he was resting his weight on the angel’s. 

“How are you feeling, Dean?” Cas asked after a few silent moments. Dean just nodded, his breathing and heart rate slowly returning to their normal rhythm. Cas chuckled and pressed a kiss to Dean’s temple. He moved to use his grace to clean the two of them up before remembering what Dean had said the last time he did that - that after care was almost as good as the actual sex. So instead he summoned a damp rag to his hand and began meticulously wiping Dean’s face clean. Dean made no move to stop him, letting Cas take care of him. 

Once they were both cleaned and clothed, Cas helped Dean from the Impala and onto his feet. “We need to get you up to bed, Dean.” Dean just grunted and leaned on Cas as he guided him inside the house and upstairs to his bedroom. Dean let Cas undress him to just his underwear and t-shirt, and tuck him into his bed. 

“Cas?” Dean whispered. “Stay?” 

“Of course Dean,” Cas said, sitting next to Dean on the bed. “I’ll watch over you.” 

-

The next morning, the Winchesters and Cas sat at the kitchen table with all the ingredients for their location spell laid out. Sam readied everything, chanting the spell in Latin before dropping a lit match onto the map spread out on the table in front of them. The four of them watched as it burned away, leaving only one small town in Indiana: New Harmony. 

“So that’s where Lilith is playing house?” Dean asked, eyebrows raised. 

“Yes. That is where Lilith will be,” Cas confirmed. “It would be good to get there as soon as possible. Three more seals were broken over the course of the night.” 

“Shit,” Mary muttered. “That’s at least a ten hour drive, probably more. We don’t have time for that.” 

“Cas? Can you transport all of us?” Sam asked, looking over at the angel. 

“That is possible, yes,” Cas said. “But we need a plan before traveling to Indiana. Lilith will be well-protected. Going in ‘guns blazing’, as you would say, is ill advised.” Dean rolled his eyes at that.

“Alright then, what’s our plan? What do we have that will kill her?” Dean asked. “The Colt, angel blade, and Ruby’s knife. Will those all work?” 

“Yes, they should all be able to kill Lilith,” Cas confirmed with a nod. 

“And what about you, will smiting her work?” 

Cas was silent for a moment. “That I am unsure of. While Lilith is not technically any rank higher than a demon, she is almost as old as I am.” 

“Okay, so I say we try for the Colt. It’ll give us the most distance and opportunity,” Mary reasoned, taking a sip of her coffee. They spent the better part of an hour planning out their strategy and then gathering everything they would need. Finally ready, Sam and Dean both had bags slung over their shoulders, and all four were armed. 

“Ready to go?” Sam asked, taking a deep breath. Mary and Dean nodded and turned to Cas, reaching out to grip his outstretched arm. As soon as all three were touching him, they were no longer in the Winchester kitchen, but rather an abandoned-looking street in the middle of a small town. 

“So this is New Harmony?” Dean asked, glancing around at the seemingly empty houses. 

“This is the place. Lilith is that way,” Cas said, pointing down the street. “There is a cul-de-sac. The entire neighborhood is infested with demons.” 

“Alright then, just like we planned,” Mary said. “Sam and I will get to the water supply while you two get the speakers ready.” They split up then, Sam and Mary heading down a side street while Dean and Cas walked slowly in the direction of Lilith.    
  


“Cas…” Dean trailed off, feeling a blush rise to his cheeks. “About last night-”

“Was it alright? Did you not like something we did?” Cas asked instantly, looking over at Dean as they walked.    
  


“Of course I liked it, Cas, I initiated it and I asked for you to...to be that rough,” Dean rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “It’s what we talked about? Right at the end?” Cas still looked confused so Dean continued. “When I said I wanted you to...to fuck me?”

“Oh,” Cas said thoughtfully. “Was that not something you really wanted?” 

“No, that’s not why I’m...it is. That’s what I’m trying to say. I wasn’t just saying shit in the heat of the moment or whatever,” Dean knew his face had to be bright red at that point. 

“So when you claimed you desired for me to bend you over the hood of the Impala…”

“I meant it,” Dean muttered, not looking up to meet Cas’ eyes. Cas remained quiet for a long moment. 

  
“I would prefer if our first time having penetrative intercourse be in your bed, but after, I will indulge in whatever fantasies you have, Dean,” Cas said simply. Dean huffed and finally looked back at Cas, heart melting when he saw just how earnest and sincere Cas looked. 

“Alright, that...that sounds good.” Cas smiled a little but made no move to continue the conversation as they reached the beginning of the street the cul-de-sac was on. Dean pulled out his phone to text Sam that they were in position, handing Cas one of the speakers, turned on and hooked up to his phone. When he received Sam’s response, they walked down the street at a faster pace and just as they reached the end, all the sprinklers turned on simultaneously. 

Every single person that was meandering around the cul de sac was screaming and screeching in pain as the holy water sprayed all over their skin. Dean pressed play on his phone and, on the highest volume, a recording of Sam saying an exorcism played from both speakers at five times the normal speed. Within minutes, all the demons in the vicinity were out of their vessels and back in Hell. 

“That was easier than expected,” Dean commented as they walked toward the house that was still lit up and had movement inside. They met up with Sam and Mary at the bottom of the steps to the front porch. Dean had Cas’ angel blade, Mary the Colt, and Sam the demon knife. 

“Ready?” Mary said, looking between the three men. They all nodded and let her lead the way up the porch steps and into the house. 

  
Everything was quiet when they first walked in, but as soon as they turned the first corner out of the foyer, there was a body on the floor, at least two or three days old. They all carefully stepped over the corpse and made their way into the living room where they were met with two more bodies, much fresher than the last. They split up then, Mary and Sam taking the rest of the ground floor while Dean and Cas started up the stairs. 

Sam and Mary turned the corner into the kitchen and there was someone there - but it wasn’t Lilith. 

“Ruby?” Sam asked, obviously shocked to see the demon standing there so casually. 

“Hey Sam. Miss me?” Ruby asked, looking up at him with a sly grin. “I sure missed you. But you kept avoiding my calls.” 

“Calls?” Mary asked, looking at Sam with raised brows. 

“Not now, Mom,” Sam groaned. “What are you doing here, Ruby?” 

“Well, since you wouldn’t talk to me, someone had to try and take down Lilith,” Ruby said as she stepped around the kitchen island to press herself against his chest. “And well, she’s very persuasive.” 

“You’re working with Lilith now?” Sam asked in disbelief. “But you helped us!” 

“Oh Sammy, I was always working with Lilith,” Ruby cooed and patted his cheek. “Now, be a good boy, and give me my knife back.” Before Sam could even think of a retort, Mary had the Colt raised, cocked, and pointed right at Ruby’s head. 

“Give me one good reason not to shoot you,” she said, taking a deep even breath.

“I can get you close to Lilith,” Ruby bargained with a smirk. “If I bring you, she’ll think you’ve already been captured.” Mary considered it for a moment before pulling the trigger. 

“Not good enough,” she said to Ruby’s lifeless corpse, lowering her arm. Sam was staring at Mary with wide eyes. “Oh baby, no one gets away with threatening my boys like that. Now come on, we still have to actually find Lilith.” 

They didn’t have to go far. When they returned to the living room, Cas and Dean were kneeling on the floor, held there by an invisible force, and a little girl no more than ten was standing next them. 

“Oh good, you’re all here,” the little girl - Lilith - said. Though her voice was still that of a child’s, there was no mistaking the maliciousness in her tone. “Now we can start the party.” With that, Sam and Mary were flung into opposite walls, Mary dropping the Colt from the force of the impact. “Did you really think you could just waltz in here and kill me? The demons outside, they’re nothing compared to the powers I have.” 

“I really wish you demons didn’t talk so much,” Sam groaned, trying to fight Lilith’s hold on him. Her head snapped around to look at him. 

“And I wish you had done as you were told,” she sneered, which somehow still looked frightening on a child’s face. “Now be quiet.” Sam opened his mouth to retort but no sound came out. “Much better.” Lilith turned her attention back to Dean and Cas. “Where are they?” 

“I told you, we don’t have them,” Dean rolled his eyes. “How stupid do you think we are?” 

“You don’t want me to answer that question,” Lilith walked closer to them, eyes narrowing. “I don’t need you to have them, I just need to know where they are.” 

“Go to Hell,” Dean snarked. Lilith’s eyes glowed as she thrust her hand, sending Dean sprawling to the ground across the room. Cas called out to him but the angel’s movement was restricted as well. “I’m not telling you where the fucking rings are so you may as well just kill me.” Sam, Mary, and Cas all began shouting protests at that, drawing Lilith’s attention away from Dean. 

“Oh, isn’t that sweet,” she said as she turned to face Sam and Mary once more. “You’re trying to protect him.” 

Dean stood slowly, trying not to make any noise as he crossed the room. Fortunately, Lilith was too distracted to notice until he was behind her, angel blade against her neck. “Let them go,” he growled. Lilith’s breath hitched but she listened, releasing her hold on Sam and Mary. 

“Are you really going to kill me, Dean? Kill a pure little girl?” she asked, looking up at him with her most innocent eyes. Dean’s hand trembled, hesitating, but that was all Lilith needed to slam him into the ground. With Lilith’s attention back on Dean, Sam dove for the Colt on the ground, aiming it at Lilith.

“Are you going to do it, Samuel?” Lilith asked. “Kill me and the little girl I’m possessing?” 

“Don’t listen, Sam!” Cas called from where he was still frozen on the ground. “The body is empty of a soul!” That was all the confirmation Sam needed and he cocked the gun, seeing real fear in Lilith’s eyes for the first time. Sam was still for a moment, killing Lilith here and now would finally end all of this. They would be done with all the apocalypse bullshit and Sam could focus on what he really wanted - saving Bela. 

Lilith was the reason Bela was in Hell. She held the contract. 

Sam pulled the trigger. 

-

Back home in Sioux Falls, Mary headed over to Bobby and Karen’s to tell them what had happened in Indiana while Sam, Dean, and Cas collapsed in the living room. 

“So this is it, then? Apocalypse subverted?” Dean asked, taking a sip from his glass of whiskey. 

“Lucifer cannot be raised without the final seal. And the rings are safely stored in separate locations to keep that key from being used,” Cas mused. “So yes, the apocalypse has been subverted.” He looked over at Dean with a small smile. Dean grinned back and pulled Cas closer, pressing a kiss to his cheek briefly. 

“So what now?” Dean asked. “Do you have to go back up to Heaven?” 

“I will, but not permanently. I have...grown too attached to certain things here on Earth. Certain people,” Cas said fondly, looking over at Dean. Dean ducked his head to hide his blush. 

“I guess we just go back to regular hunts?” Sam suggested, rolling his eyes at the two of them. “I...I’m gonna find a way to save Bela. She deserves to be in Heaven.” 

“Sam, I wish that I could help,” Cas said, turning to face the other Winchester brother. “But pulling you from Hell took my entire garrison, it was not something I could have ever done alone. And Heaven would not agree to extract Bela’s soul if she made a deal with a demon.” 

“It’s okay, Cas, I know you would do something if you could,” Sam reassured him. “Speaking of, when we were in that hotel, trapped by all the gods, something one of them said was...concerning...” Cas nodded for him to continue. “He said that Dean and I were the righteous men? That we were crafted to be an archangel’s vessel.”

  
Cas sighed. “You are both considered Righteous. If Dean had somehow gone to Hell, his spilling of blood would also have broken the first seal,” he explained. “As for being an archangel’s vessel, Sam, you are Lucifer’s true vessel. That is why Azazel chose you as one of his test subjects and fed you demon blood as an infant, to make you more powerful. It is why he drug you to Hell when you died. You were meant to host Lucifer when he was risen.” 

“What?” Dean asked, sitting up straight and staring at Cas. “You didn’t think to mention this until now?” 

“As I have explained before, Dean, an angel, even an archangel, cannot enter a vessel without consent. Sam would have to say yes to Lucifer to allow him use of his body as a vessel.” 

“And what about Dean? The guy said we were both vessels,” Sam was trying not to think too hard about the fact that he was  _ Lucifer’s  _ true vessel. 

“I am not entirely sure, but it stands to reason Dean would be Michael’s true vessel. You are brothers, and your parents union, therefore your births, were ensured by Heaven,” Cas said. “But Michael has been missing for several centuries, no one knows where he has gone.” 

“So nothing to worry about then?” Sam asked. Cas nodded and tugged Dean back to relaxing against the couch. “Good. Maybe we can even get a vacation in.” Dean snorted. 

“When have we ever had time for a real vacation? Even without the apocalypse, we still have all our regular hunts,” Dean said. “And my job. Hopefully Bobby hasn’t fired me for missing so much work.” 

“I sincerely doubt Bobby Singer would end your employment for anything, let alone stopping the apocalypse,” Cas said sincerely. Dean just smiled and pulled the angel down into a chaste kiss. 

“Guess we’ll find out tomorrow when I show up for a shift.”

-

With the amount of time he had been spending on Earth - around humans - lately, Castiel found spending significant time in Heaven to be disconcerting and disorienting. He hadn’t dwelled on it before, but due to his time around humanity - around Dean Winchester - the more he questioned the values and priorities of Heaven. 

Where he might have been content to be excluded from higher-ranking plans before, he now had suspicions. He had yet to voice his concerns to Sam and Dean, but he knew that it was incredibly unlikely that the highest levels of Heaven’s leadership didn’t know that Lilith’s untimely death would bring about the apocalypse, and he had refused to believe that they didn’t know that the rings of the Four Horsemen were capable of opening Lucifer’s cage, considering that angels were the ones who put him there in the first place.

He knew that voicing his concerns was a bad idea, and that he could lose his grace for even considering that Heaven’s intentions were anything less than pure. Unfortunately, the knowledge of the risk didn’t negate the desperation to satisfy curiosity - damn Dean Winchester’s influence. He knew that some of his brothers and sisters would be more receptive and kind regarding his curiosity than others, and for that, he sought out the leader of his garrison, Anna, who had always been remarkably kind and loyal to him, as much as an angel could be, anyway. 

Anna was exactly where Castiel predicted that she would be, inside the heaven of a woman who lived in a house atop a cliff that overlooked the Atlantic ocean. The woman was nowhere to be found, but Castiel spotted Anna’s vibrant red hair easily, a fiery shock against the blue-grey of the cliffs and the ocean. 

“Hello, Castiel,” she said, without turning to look at him, “Something troubles you. What is it?” 

He strode over and took a seat on the hard ground next to her, letting his feet dangle off the edge of the cliff, “It just… feels as though this apocalypse was a much closer call than some of the others before,” he said, letting out a sigh, “I dread to imagine what would have become of Heaven and Earth if Lucifer had been allowed to roam free.” 

Anna looked over at him warily, “There have been rumors,” she said, looking around as if someone untrustworthy could be eavesdropping, “That Michael may be returning to claim his rightful place as Heaven’s leader. If those rumors are true, I am sure that he would have made a sacrifice to return Lucifer to his cage, had the issue arisen.” 

“And how would one go about confirming or disproving those rumors?” Cas asked hopefully. 

“Access to that kind of knowledge is forbidden even to me,” Anna replied sadly, “But, there are some so desperate for leadership that they may go to great lengths to inspire such a leader to return.” She said no more, but the look on her eyes told him far more than her words were able to. 

-

Cas wasn’t totally sure how long he had been in Heaven, talking the situation over with Anna and then contemplating it while he walked through his personal favorite Heaven - that of a man who spent most of his time in a garden chock-full of exotic plants from all over the world - but if the way Dean clung to him when he returned was any indication, it had been a few days. 

“Hello Dean,” Cas said, “I’ve missed our time together, I’m sorry. There was some business that I needed to attend to.” 

Dean nodded, pulling him in for a kiss. “Anything we can help with?” he asked once they had separated. 

Cas sighed, considering his options for a moment, “I don’t think you can, for right now. I’m investigating a … highly sensitive angel matter. How much time passed while I was gone, by the way?” 

“It’s been three days,” Dean said, pulling Cas toward him so that their bodies were flush, “I’ve missed you in my bed.” 

Sam came into the room and let out an audible sound of disgust, “Can you two keep it PG-13 in common areas, please?”

Cas furrowed his eyebrows, “I don’t know what that means.” 

Dean shot a glare at his brother, “Don’t worry about it, Cas. Did you need something, Sam?” 

Relieved at the subject change, Sam let out a sigh, “Yeah, Mom has been getting phone calls from several other hunters in her network. Demon activity has been going crazy lately. Do either of you have any idea why that might be?” 

Cas shifted into his serious mode, “It’s most likely that Lilith’s death has caused a power vacuum. I would assume that there are several contenders vying for her throne, and many of the demons are causing chaos on behalf of one faction or another.” 

-

A few weeks after Cas telling them about the leaderless Hell, Sam and Dean were home alone - Mary had gone out for dinner with Jody and Donna - when there was a knock on the front door. They both looked at each other with concern - they weren’t expecting anybody and anybody who mattered wouldn’t knock, they would just enter the house. 

Dean grabbed the silver knife that they kept on the table next to their front door and gestured for Sam to open the door. 

“Hello boys,” the man standing on their front porch said. The man was at quite a few inches shorter than both of them, a bit on the chubby side, and spoke with an English accent. 

“Who the fuck are you?” Dean asked, glaring at the man. 

“Crowley’s the name,” he said, eyes flashing black. “And, as loathe as I am to admit it, I need your help.” 

“We don’t help demons,” Sam said, trying to subtly reach for the flask of holy water they kept next to the silver knife. 

“Not yet, but perhaps after you hear me out, you’ll change your mind. Bela did, after all,” that caused Sam to freeze where he stood, eyes going wide. 

“You know Bela?” he whispered, voice shaking slightly. 

“Yes, long before she came to Hell,” Crowley confirmed. “Now, can I come in?” Sam looked at Dean with a pleading look. Dean couldn’t say no. They both stepped aside to let Crowley in. 

“What do you need our help with?” Dean asked gruffly, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“As you may know, considering you killed her, Lilith is dead. Lilith was in charge of Hell,” Crowley explained. “Demons don’t do too well when they are not given a purpose. So I stepped in.”

“So you’re the new ruler of Hell?” Sam asked, furrowing his brows in confusion. “Why are you here then?” 

“As I’m sure you two also know, there tend to be...difficulties when there’s a change of power. You bore witness to it, with all the demons running around, possessing whoever they please and wreaking havoc where I don’t want it wrought,” Crowley said. “And that’s where you two come in. You help me round up all my little demons and exorcise them instead of killing them, sending them back down to me where I can make sure they are disciplined properly.” 

“And what’s in it for us?” Dean spoke up. “What do we get out of exorcising those sons of bitches?” 

“Wouldn’t it be a good idea to have the King of Hell on your side?” Crowley said. When Sam and Dean didn’t seem moved, he let out a resounding sigh. “Bela? You know of course she’s still down in Hell. I can’t do anything about her placement in the afterlife but I could make it much more comfortable for her.” 

“You could really do that?” Sam asked after a few moments of silence. 

“I’ll even shake on it,” Crowley extended his hand toward Sam. Sam met Dean’s eyes and waited for his brother’s nod of approval before reaching out and taking Crowley’s hand. “It’s a done deal. Now, whenever you boys come across a demon, send them back to me. And occasionally, if I catch wind of one of my pets getting out of hand, I’ll send you their way.” 

Before Sam or Dean could reply, Crowley had vanished. “I don’t like this, Sam. Working with the King of Hell?” 

“I know Dean, but...if he can help Bela at all, it’s worth it. At least to me,” Sam said. “Please.” Dean sighed and rubbed his temple.    
  


“I know how guilty you feel over Bela, Sam, but at some point you have to let it go,” he said. “It’s not healthy for you to obsess over her like this. We don’t even know if we can save her.” 

“We promised we would protect her from Lilith and we failed. I promised I would save her and I failed. I can’t fail again, Dean,” Sam said stubbornly. “I’m going to bed, I’ll see you in the morning.” 

-

_ Sam slowly opened his eyes, glad to feel the warm weight of a body on top of him. He didn’t want to move from this spot, where he could feel the soft curves of a woman’s breasts against his back, and the bare skin of her legs against his. He was warm and content.  _

_ Just as he was about to drift off once more, he felt lips trailing over his shoulder blade.  _

_ “Morning love,” Sam smiled - a bit dopily, he knew - at the lilting accent.  _

_ “Morning,” Sam carefully rolled over so he was on his back and Bela was on top of him. “How did you sleep?”  _

_ “Quite well,” Bela whispered, pressing more kisses to Sam’s chest. “I was tired after last night. Someone gave me quite the workout.” Sam pulled Bela up so their chests were pressed together and he could kiss her soundly. One arm wrapped around her waist to keep her where he wanted while the other hand crept down to cup her ass, fingers sliding easily between her legs.  _

_ “If you’re not too tired, I could wear you out some more,” Sam muttered against her lips, causing Bela to giggle.  _

_ “As good as that sounds, coming six times in one night makes a woman quite sore,” Bela teased, fingers trailing over Sam’s shoulder.  _

_ “And you don’t think my jaw is sore?” Sam rolled them over once more, but this time he was on top of her. “But I could spend all day between your thighs, if you let me.”  _

_ “We have things that we need to do,” Bela protested half-heartedly, closing her eyes as Sam kissed her neck and shoulder. “We need...to get up.”  _

_ “And what if I want to keep you right here in my bed?” Sam muttered against her skin. “Spread open for me whenever I want you.” Bela moaned and buried her head in the pillow. Sam ran his hand down Bela’s side and pushed it under her in order to reach between her legs. “You’re already soaked for me.”  _

_ “Some of that is you,” Bela whined, rolling her hips into Sam’s touch. “How many times did you come in me last night?”  _

_ “Only twice,” Sam grinned. “I could do it again, if you wanted.” Sam pulled Bela’s hips back to meet his, his cock already hard against her.  _

_ “You know I do,” Bela groaned and spread her legs further, allowing Sam to lay between them. Sam used his free hand to hold himself up just enough to line up and press into Bela, both of them gasping - Sam from the tight grip around his cock and Bela from the stimulation to her already sore pussy.  _

_ “Fuck, Bela,” Sam grunted as he slid into her, and once he was as deep as he could go, he let his weight rest on top of her, pressing her further into the mattress and mess of sheets.  _

_ “Sam, please,” her accent was thicker like this, early in the morning and heavy with arousal. “Fuck me.” Sam wasn’t going to deny her, so he obliged, thrusting his hips to meet hers at a pace that was probably too fast for morning sex, but Sam had one objective : make Bela come.  _

_ “Love the way you feel,” Sam all but growled into her ear. “Clenching around my cock and begging for it harder.” He used the hand that was still wrapped around her hip to rub her clit as he fucked her, Bela crying out loudly as she tried to pull back from the touch, which only served to push her deeper on Sam’s length. _

_ “Sam, Sam, please,” she cried, overstimulated but still wanting more. “I-I need-” _

_ “I know what you need,” Sam shushed her, angling his hips just right. Bela let out a broken sob at the change, and tried to get away but Sam held her firmly in place as he continued fucking into her. “Come for me.”  _

_ Bela arched into Sam’s touch as she came, letting out cries of Sam’s name and both trying to shy away and push into his touch.  _

_ Sam didn’t stop fucking her once.  _

_  
_ _ “S-Sam,” Bela whimpered, “Please, fill me up. Want you to come inside me.” Sam fisted the sheet as he edged closer to his own orgasm, making sure to thrust in as deep as he could before he spilled inside her.  _

_ “Fuck, baby,” Sam grunted, stilling his hips to make sure he filled her up as much as possible. Once he was sure he was finished, he slowly pulled out, his cock still slick with her. Sam sat up on his knees and manhandled Bela onto her back, spreading her thighs with both hands.  _

_ Her pussy was still soaked and his come was dripping out onto the sheets below them.  _

_ Sam lifted her thighs over his shoulders and grabbed her hips, pulling her entire body down until his mouth met her cunt. He licked over the entire length of her, stopping at her clit to suck on it briefly. He reveled in Bela’s cries and her attempts to move, to buck her hips against his mouth - but he didn’t let her, easily pinning her to the mattress with his hands.  _

_ Sam practically buried his face in her cunt, licking and sucking everywhere he knew she was sensitive - and he knew just about every place. He wasn’t lying when he told Bela he would spend all day between her thighs. He loved this almost more than fucking, getting to take her apart with just his lips and tongue, make her fall apart and cry, beg, and plead for him.  _

_ “Sam, please,” Bela begged, tears rolling down the side of her face. “I’m so close.” Sam doubled his efforts, licking over Bela’s clit and sucking on her labia lightly, teasingly like he knew she liked, He felt her slick and his come all over his cheeks and chin which only spurred him on, fingers clenching on her hips.  _

_ “Come,” Sam pulled back just enough to speak the one word before attaching his mouth back to her clit and sucking, which triggered Bela’s orgasm. She cried out and moaned loudly, one hand flying down to grasp at Sam’s hair to try and tug him away but it was no use. He worked her through her high, only stopping when she was panting and limp against the bed. He sat up slowly and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he watched Bela.  _

_ Her chest was heaving as she tried to steady her breathing, and her thighs continued to twitch. Her skin was flushed and sweaty, hair a tangled mess against the pillows.  _

_ And she was beautiful.  _

_ Sam leaned over her to kiss her sweetly, rolling them over to a dry spot on the bed. He was on his back once more and she was on top of him. “How is your jaw now?” Bela asked with a slight smirk. Sam just laughed and kissed her again.  _

-

Castiel had, of course, heard of Metatron, the Scribe of God but had assumed that, like most entities closely affiliated with God, he had abandoned them. Over the course of his research, Castiel spent a majority of his time in Heaven, following the slightest of leads, but when he discovered that there was significantly powerful angelic power emanating from a forested area in New Mexico, he didn’t think twice about following up.

Castiel figured that the power signature could be indicative of a garrison on a secret assignment, or potentially the archangel Michael or Raphael, but he wasn’t optimistic. He briefly considered asking Sam and Dean for help in his investigation, but decided against it, knowing that his human companions were much more susceptible to manipulation by ill-intentioned angels and had the potential to bring too much attention to Castiel’s doubts before the right time. 

Armed with just an angel blade and a vague idea of what he was getting himself into, Castiel descended from Heaven, landing near the concentration of angelic power. He closed his eyes, trying to tune out the dissonant clamoring of competing angelic frequencies inside his head, as he searched for those nearest to him. 

The resonance got louder as he drew nearer to the motel that stood in front of him. He shook his head, trying fruitlessly to clear it. He stumbled, surprised that any amount of angelic power could have this effect on him. It must be an archangel, he reasoned, sure that the power of a lesser angel wouldn’t be so profound. 

He staggered through the hallway, blinking against the black spots in his vision. Before he could open any of the doors that lined the hall, he heard a voice, “I had hoped you’d be the one to find me, Castiel”

Castiel turned, eyes zeroing in on a being that was unfamiliar to him, “You’re not an archangel,” he said, squinting, “Who are you?” 

“I’m someone who understands what you’re going through. Your questions, your suspicions… don’t you know that doubt is what sows the seeds of rebellion?” 

Castiel surged toward the being, angel blade raised, “I won’t ask again, who are you?”

The man opened the door behind him, “Why don’t you come in and we’ll talk… somewhere more private.”

Despite his better judgement, Castiel followed the man into the room and took a seat at the table in the center of the room, more concerned with finding answers than self-preservation. Once inside the room, the man completed a few sigils on the walls, and the oppressive resonance in Castiel’s head fell silent. 

“I’m Metatron,” the man said, taking a seat across from Castiel, “And I think we can help each other out.”

“You’re the scribe of God,” Castiel replied in awe, “Does this mean he is coming back?”

The man shook his head, “That’s why I need your help,” he explained, “Some of the other angels have… lost focus, we’ll say. How much do you know about the Lucifer situation?”

Castiel furrowed his brows, “I know that we were dangerously close to having Lucifer walk the Earth, and that we were entirely unprepared to combat it.”

Metatron reached forward, touching Castiel’s forehead with two fingers. All at once, images and knowledge flooded his head. He saw flashes of his superiors conspiring, saw their discussions of the end times, saw answers to his questions and information that filled gaps he didn’t know he had. 

He gasped, drawing back, “They set it up? They knew the whole time that the apocalypse would happen?” 

Metatron stood up, turning to face the bay window behind him, “Heaven has gotten out of hand, I suspect that we’re a few skirmishes away from an all-out civil war for control of Heaven’s power.” 

“What can I do?” Castiel asked resolutely.

Metatron looked down at the table for a moment, “Well, there is a spell that we can use to summon Michael…” 

-

Over the last month, Cas had been coming to see Dean less and less, and with no way to contact the angel aside from praying and hoping he would show, Dean was feeling neglected. 

He knew Cas was busy - he was busy too, with Crowley’s little demon hunts that he and Sam kept going on - that he had angel business or whatever that he had to deal with, but after he had gone over a week without seeing his boyfriend, Dean was over it. 

The next time Cas popped in, it was the middle of the day. Mary was out on a hunt a few towns over with Donna while Sam was at the university library, researching ways to pull a soul out of Hell, leaving the two of them alone in the house. 

“Hello, Dean,” Cas greeted. Dean glanced up from his spot on the couch. 

“You’re blocking the TV,” he said coldly. Cas frowned a little and glanced back at the screen. 

“Dean-”

“Unless the next few words outta your mouth are an explanation for where you’ve been, I don’t want to hear them,” Dean said, not bothering to even look at Cas. 

“I was working to ease the chaos of Heaven,” Cas said, and Dean could hear the edge of annoyance in his voice. 

“Good for you,” Dean rolled his eyes. “Would have been nice to know.” 

“Dean,” Cas tried again. “I am sorry that it has been so long since we have spoken but I have things, important things, that need my attention.” 

“Also nice to know that I’m not important,” Dean stood and grabbed his empty glass off the coffee table and stomped into the kitchen. He could hear Cas following him though he ignored the angel as he set the glass in the sink. To think he had told Cas he loved him and now the angel was treating him like yesterday’s news.

“Dean, that is not what I was implying,” Cas huffed. “Of course you are important, but the things that I am doing, the things that are taking my attention, they are time sensitive. Heaven is only moments away from breaking into all out war at any given moment.”

“You haven’t mentioned any kind of fucking war,” Dean turned around to finally look at Cas, glaring pointedly. “Ever since we killed Lilith, you’ve been fucking around with all your angel pals. Do you know how long it’s been since I last saw you?” 

“I...I’m not sure. You know that time is a human concept,” Cas said carefully. Dean just scoffed.   
  


“It’s been over a fucking week. Listen, if you’re not fucking interested anymore, just fucking say so. I don’t need you to pity the tiny little human that has a crush. If you wanna be gone then just stay gone,” Dean was breathing heavily and he could feel tears well though he fought them back. 

He didn’t want Cas to see him cry over this. Over him. 

“Oh, Dean,” Cas said quietly, stepping toward him. “How could you ever think that?” 

“It’s pretty fucking hard not to,” Dean muttered. “I mean, you’re an angel, Cas. You’ve been alive for...for millions of years? You’ve seen shit I couldn’t even dream of. You’ve spent less than a year with me, how is that supposed to compare?” 

“Dean Winchester, I have spent my millions of years watching this planet and its inhabitants grow and evolve. I have watched civilizations rise and crumble under their own ego. I have watched the greatest of men and the worst. And none of them could ever compare to you,” Cas spoke softly, stepping closer to Dean with every breath. “Your soul...it’s bright and pure and beautiful. I’ve never seen another soul like it. You are a good man, Dean. The best I’ve ever met, and ever will meet.” 

“Cas-” Dean tries to stop, tears already falling down his face but Cas continues. 

“I’ve only known you for a very short time, but you have changed me, Dean. Before I met you, I would blindly and obediently follow whatever order I was given but now...now I have doubts. I have questions. I feel, and I care, for the first time in millennia. Because of you, Dean,” Cas took both of Dean’s hands in his own and laced their fingers together at their sides. He then rested his forehead against Dean’s, and Dean could feel Cas’ breath on his own lips. 

“Cas, please-” Dean feels like he can’t breathe. 

“You deserve this, Dean. You deserve to be happy, and I hope that’s with me. And if it’s not I’ll do anything in my power to find what it is,” Cas finally finished, letting out a short sigh.

“Of course you make me happy,” Dean whispered, taking a shaky breath, as he tried to process everything Cas said and respond. “Why do you think I get so upset when you’re gone? I...I miss you, man. I worry about you. There’s no way for me to know if anything happens to you.” 

“I could get a phone,” Cas suggested which made Dean laugh, thick and wet from crying. 

“I would love that. I want to know that you’re safe. Especially if Heaven is about to go war,” Dean let go of Cas’ hand to wrap his arm around the angel’s waist. “And…thank you. For everything you said.” Cas just hummed and pressed a soft kiss to Dean’s temple. 

“I said nothing that wasn’t completely true,” Cas breathed against his skin. “You’ve changed me, Dean. For the better.”

-

As the weeks wore on, Sam and Dean were helping Crowley more and more. They had been exorcising demons back to Hell at least once or twice a week, and Sam was keeping in regular contact with him about Bela. He still hadn’t given up on his quest to find a way to get her to Heaven, but knowing that she was at least more comfortable was a relief. 

He hoped that she knew he was trying to make good on his promise. 

They knew that Crowley’s role as the new King of Hell was settling in and the rebellions and rogue demons were slowing down, but during one conversation, he mentioned that Heaven’s own civil war wasn’t going quite as well. Though Dean didn’t outwardly show it, Sam could tell Dean was perturbed by that - he had mentioned Cas saying something about Heaven being close to war but if Sam had to guess, based on Dean’s reaction, the angel hadn’t mentioned that it had progressed. 

Once Sam had ended the phone call, he turned to Dean, whose expression had turned to the stoicism Dean used to cover his anger. “Do you wanna talk?” 

“Talk about what?” Dean muttered. “Apparently we’re not important enough for Cas to talk to us about the shit that matters. I mean I had to practically drag it out of him, last time.” 

“Dean,” Sam sighed. “It’s probably that he doesn’t want to drag us into it or something. Or maybe he wants to use his time with you as a way to destress.” 

“That doesn’t mean he should just ignore the subject completely!” Dean shouted before inhaling sharply. “I just don’t like him keeping secrets.” 

“Oh, so you’ve told him that we’re working with Crowley?” Sam asked, eyebrows raised. Dean froze, eyes shifting to not meet his brother’s. 

“It’s different,” he finally said, though he didn’t sound very confident. 

“It’s really not. It’s a secret you’re keeping from your boyfriend because you don’t want to worry about it while you’re with him,” Sam said easily with a shrug. “Unless you’re willing to tell him the truth, you’re not allowed to get pissed at him for not doing the same.” 

“You’re not part of our relationship, Sammy, so butt out,” Dean protested, finally turning a glare on him.

“Bullshit,” Sam sneered. “I’m your brother and Cas is my best friend. Whatever affects you two affects me. So suck it up and talk to your boyfriend. Or I’ll tell him next time he’s down here.” 

“Don’t you fucking dare, Sam,” Dean moved closer to Sam, fists clenching at his sides. 

“Like I said Dean, he’s my best friend too. I don’t like keeping secrets from him,” Sam said with a shake of his head. “He deserves to know.” 

“I’ll tell him about Crowley when he tells me about Heaven,” Dean said petulantly. 

“You’re acting like a child, not a grown man in a relationship,” Sam rolled his eyes. “But fine. You wanna throw Cas away like that, be my guest.” 

“I’m not throwing anyone or anything away,” Dean huffed. “I just want him to trust me to tell me about the shit that matters!” 

“Then you have to do the same for him. Tell him about Crowley,” Sam said. “He’s not going to leave you.” Dean scoffed and looked down at the floor. Sam knew Dean would never admit it, but he knew his older brother - Dad left him and Sam left him. His only serious relationships ended because Dean was far more insecure than he let on. 

“You don’t know that,” Dean whispered, voice thick. 

“I do though. And Dean, you have the option, he’s here. You have him. I don’t....I lost my chance. I don’t want you to lose yours,” Sam clapped a hand on Dean’s shoulder and when he looked up, Sam gave him an encouraging smile. 

“Shit, Sammy, I’m sorry, I wasn’t even thinking,” Dean groaned. “You only lost Jess a year ago, and I’m bitching at Cas about spending a week away.” 

“Yeah,” Sam said, heart like lead in his stomach. “Jess…” 

-

_ Sam closed the door to the car with a slam. It had been a long day of work and he was more than happy to be home. He headed inside from the garage, locking the door behind him. As soon as he stepped inside the house, there was an enticing aroma of what he could assume was dinner in the oven.  _

_ He walked into the kitchen and smiled as he saw the woman, wearing only a pair of tight pajama shorts and one of his shirts, leaning against the counter and drinking a glass of wine as she stirred a pot on the stove. He walked up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. He took a deep inhale as he buried his face in her hair.  _

_ “I missed you,” he whispered.  _

_ “I missed you too,” Bela said as she turned around, looking up at him. “But I don’t mind you going to work if it means getting to see you in a suit.” She licked her lips as Sam leaned down to kiss her.  _

_ “How was your day?” Sam asked after pulling away, though the rest of their bodies were still pressed together.  _

_ “Good. Made a few trades, a few deals,” Bela said wistfully. “Went over to your mum’s to help her with a large order. And then I came home to make some dinner.”  _

_ “Oh you made dinner?” Sam asked teasingly, grinning down at her.  _

_ “I did in fact,” Bela scoffed. “Your mum taught me how today. And wrote down everything for me to follow. It’s just pasta.”  _

_ “It smells wonderful and I’m sure it’ll be delicious,” he said and kissed her again. “I’ll let you finish this up while I get changed and then I’ll come help however I can.”  _

_ “Do you have to change?” Bela pouted, running her hands over his chest slowly. Sam’s breath hitched, hands squeezing her hips.  _

_ “I don’t want to get anything on it,” he said. “But on Friday, we’ll go out for dinner and I’ll keep it on then.”  _

_ “I suppose that could work, as long as you promise to also keep it on when I ride you after,” Bela smirked as Sam choked a little. Despite having been together for years at this point, he still got flustered when she was crass outside of sex.  _

_ “I’ll just...go change,” Sam hurried out of the room, Bela giggling behind him. Sam changed into a pair of sweatpants and a plain shirt and by the time he was back in the kitchen, Bela was dishing out two plates of pasta and garlic bread at the table.  _

_ “Sit,” Bela said as she set his plate down. He did so, smiling as Bela sat across from him at their small kitchen table. “How was work?”  _

_ “Good. Busy, I was writing most of the day but I had a couple of calls for some research so I had to break for that,” Sam said. They talked the rest of the way through dinner but when Sam moved to get up to take their dishes to the sink, Bela had moved to sit in his lap.  _

_ “I really did miss you. Why can’t you write from home?” She asked quietly, leaning their heads together.  _

_ “You know why, I wouldn’t get any writing done if I spent my entire day with you,” Sam said, taking Bela’s hand in his hand. “And you wouldn’t get anything done either.”  _

_ “You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Bela grinned and kissed him. Sam reciprocated, pushing a hand up the back of her - but actually his- shirt. Bela hummed as she cupped his face, sitting up straighter.  _

_ “Need to do the dishes,” Sam grumbled as he reluctantly pulled away.  _

_ “Oh Sam, you say the sexiest things,” Bela giggled as Sam stood, keeping her held up by her thighs. He deposited her on the counter, standing between her legs for a long moment. “You know, I don’t have anything under these shorts.”  _

_ “Baby,” Sam took a deep breath. “Let me do the dishes, and then I’m all yours.” Bela let out an exaggerated sigh and leaned back against the counter but didn’t protest further. Sam cleaned up as fast as he could, loading the dishwasher and then washing the few pots that didn’t fit by hand. He glanced over at Bela every so often where she was still seated on the counter, typing away on her phone - likely an email to one client or another.  _

_ “Alright, I’m all done,” Sam declared, tossing the sponge into the sink. He dried his hands before stepping back between Bela’s thighs. “I’m all yours for the rest of the night.”  _

_ “You’re always all mine,” Bela bit her lip as Sam picked her back up and carried her out of the kitchen and down the hall to their bedroom. She laughed as he dropped her onto the mattress, and Sam climbed over her. He reached up to turn on the lamp, bathing them both in warm light.  _

_ “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss along her jaw. “Love seeing you in my clothes.” _

_ “I know, why do you think I’m wearing them?” Bela grinned and drug her hands up his arms, over his shoulder, and onto his chest. Out of the corner of his eye, Sam saw the lamp light flicker on the ring on Bela’s left hand.  _

_ “I love you,” Sam said earnestly, looking down at her. She looked divine under him, laying in their bed, in his shirt and little else.  _

_ “I love you too,” Bela whispered before pulling Sam down to meet her lips with his.  _

Sam woke up with a start as Dean banged on his door, yelling at him to get up - Crowley had a couple demons for them to track down and exorcise. Sam wiped his mouth as he sat up in bed, taking a deep breath. His dreams about Bela - and their imagined life together - were increasing in frequency. Sam wasn’t sure what to do about it, there was no getting Bela back but it also seems like there was no getting over her either. 

-

On a break between gathering the materials for Metatron’s summoning spell, Cas stopped down on Earth, intending to make good on his promise to keep Dean in the loop about his activities. He found Mary, sitting in the kitchen and drinking a cup of coffee as she browsed through something on her laptop. 

“Oh, hello Castiel,” she said, only a little bit startled, “Are you here to see my boys?” 

Cas nodded, taking a seat at the table, “Are they still sleeping?” 

She shook her head, swallowing a mouthful of coffee, “They’re on a hunt, actually.”

Cas leaned back in the chair, “Do you know when they’re going to be back? I don’t mind waiting.” 

Mary checked her phone, “Usually their hunts for Crowley’s demons are pretty quick, I imagine they’ll be back by lunch time.”

Cas furrowed his eyebrows, “Crowley,” he said with uncertainty, “The King of Hell, Crowley?” 

“Didn’t they tell you? They’re exorcising his demons instead of killing them, and he’s working on getting some relief for Bela. Crowley said something about how Hell has been chaotic since he took over, and he was looking to get some more stability. It seems like a decent deal to me...” 

Cas shook his head, “No, I guess they forgot to mention it,” he said tightly, “Will you just have Dean pray to me when he gets back? I have some things to take care of in Heaven.”

-

When Dean and Sam arrived home from their hunt, Mary relayed Cas’ message to her eldest before retiring to bed - they hadn’t gotten home until almost one in the morning, but Mary had always waited up for them. Sam clapped Dean on the shoulder with a yawn before following Mary upstairs, leaving Dean alone to call Cas. Dean headed outside to sit on the back porch steps before sending a prayer up to let Cas know that he was home. 

Seconds later, Dean was greeted by the ever familiar gust of air from a pair of wings. 

“Hello Dean.” Dean could immediately tell something was off. Cas’ voice was...harder. 

“What’s up, angel?” Dean asked, pasting a flirtatious smirk on his face. 

“I came by early this morning to speak with you. You, as you are aware, were not here. Your mother informed me of your whereabouts,” Cas ignored Dean’s attempts to soothe the situation. “She said that you were on a hunt for Crowley. A demon. And the King of Hell.” 

  
“Yeah, so what?” Dean shrugged. “We’ve been working with him for a month or two now.” 

“Why have you been working with a demon? And not just any demon, he’s the King of Hell!” Cas’ voice was raised, and he was glaring down at Dean by this point, but Dean wasn’t going to take that shit sitting down. 

“He offered us a deal, we thought it was worth it, so we took it,” Dean said, rising to his feet. “It’s not like we’re getting fucking drinks with him. All we do is exorcise demons instead of killing them now.” 

“And his end of the deal?” Cas asked, voice strained. 

“He makes things nicer for Bela,” Dean crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you done criticizing my decisions now?” 

“I am not criticizing your decisions, Dean, I am trying to understand what possessed you to make a deal with the King of Hell.” Cas was breathing heavy, chest heaving and shoulders shaking from anger and if Dean wasn’t just as pissed, he would be begging Cas to shove him against the wall. 

“I told you, he offered a good deal, and it’s not like it’s anything we weren’t doing anyway,” Dean huffed. 

“Crowley is not just a regular demon, Dean, before he was King of Hell, he was Lilith’s man in charge of all crossroads deals. He is better than almost anyone at manipulation, and he knows what trick you’ll try to pull before you pull it. You need to be careful,” Cas said harshly. 

“I can take care of myself, jackass. I’d been doing it fine for 26 years before you showed up,” Dean snarled. “Why are you really pissed? Are you jealous? That I’ve been working with someone else?”

“I’m not jealous,” Cas shook his head quickly. “I am upset that you put yourself in danger on purpose. I am upset that you made a deal with a man who has been making them for centuries. I am upset that you didn’t see fit to tell me any of this and I had to find out from your mother.” 

“And there it is,” Dean laughed humorlessly. “You’re mad that I didn’t tell you? Pot meet fucking kettle.”

“I don’t understand that reference, Dean,” Cas sneered, and Dean had never heard anyone say his voice with so much venom before. 

“It means one and the fucking same, Cas. You don’t think I know about the fucking war going on upstairs? Were you ever gonna fucking mention that to me? Or was that something was on a need to know and I didn’t need to know?” Dean spat, jaw twitching in anger. 

“I didn’t want to involve you in the politics of Heaven, Dean, things are incredibly messy and violent,” Cas tried to explain but Dean was barely taking in any words he said. 

“It sounds like you didn’t want me getting in the way,” Dean said, fists clenching at his sides. 

“That is not what I meant, Dean, and you know it. Heaven is practically anarchy, the angels need a leader. I am working with another angel to locate Michael,” Cas tried to explain. “If he returns, he will be able to control the angels and bring back order and peace.” 

“You’re trying to find Michael?” Dean asked, eyes going wide. “Michael the archangel? The one that wants to ride me to the end of the world?” 

“That’s not…” Cas looked flustered at Dean’s analogy. “Just because you are Michael’s true vessel does not mean you are his only.” 

“But he still has to possess somebody doesn’t he?” Dean asked, eyebrows raised. “Why wouldn’t he try for me? If I’m his true vessel?” 

“Even if he does, you have to consent, and I will not let that happen,” Cas said. 

  
“So you’re okay with him doing that to some other poor schmuck?” Dean scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Glad to know that you don’t really give a shit about humans. I guess I’m just special.”

“You are but that is not…” Cas took a deep breath and leveled his gaze with Dean’s. “You are being unreasonable and you know it. I am not going to try and have this conversation with you while you’re acting this way, because you are not listening to a single word I’m saying.” 

“Cause it ain’t a conversation, Cas, it’s a fight,” Dean said. “Because you didn’t want to tell me about what you’re spending all your time doing.” 

“You didn’t tell me either, Dean,” Cas countered. “How long have you been working with Crowley?” 

“And how long have you been working with this other angel? Can you even trust them? Do you know them at all?” Dean knew they were likely being too loud to be outside at this time of night but he was too worked up to care. 

“His name is Metatron and he was scribe to God,” Cas answered, voice strained. “You cannot just turn those questions back on me without answering for yourself. How long have you been working with Crowley and how do you know you can trust him?

“A few weeks after we ganked Lilith. And I don’t trust him, but I know what he wants and he knows what we want,” Dean gripped the railing of the porch stairs, knuckles white against the wrought iron. 

“And I know what Metatron wants. A peaceful Heaven,” Cas said. “I am tired of fighting with you Dean. You are refusing to listen.” 

“And so are you!” Dean shouted. “You should have told me about everything that’s going on and I could have helped you, not this fucking Metatron! But you don’t trust me!” 

“I have never said I don’t trust you. You could say the same for yourself, you didn’t tell me about the deal with Crowley so obviously you don’t trust me.”

“Don’t turn this around on me!” Dean had moved a few steps closer to Cas, seething with anger. 

“You turned it on me first!” Cas’ eyes were bright and flickering with rage. “I have done nothing but try to protect you from the moment that we met. I am sorry if you cannot see that, but I cannot spend my time here with you trying to force you to see things from my perspective. We only need one more ingredient for the summoning spell and then things will return to normal.” 

“So this is it then? You’re gonna go gallivanting off with this Metatron to summon Michael?” Dean asked quietly, the words reaching no further than the space between their bodies. “Have fun sucking the dick of the angel that wants to wear me to prom.” 

“Dean-” Dean began walking inside and just shook his head when Cas started to speak. 

“Don’t fucking bother,” Dean said and then slammed the back door, locking it behind him. 

-

Flustered and frustrated, Cas resigned himself to ending the war in Heaven before he and Dean could make amends - if it was something they could get past, he wasn’t sure. 

He met up with Metatron in a diner they had both grown accustomed to somewhere in Iowa. Though neither of them had much taste for food, Metatron had acquired a taste for coffee, even watery diner coffee. 

“How close are we to casting the spell?” Cas asked, “I’m afraid that the forces of Hell are growing in strength and I’m not sure that we have much time.” 

“The final ingredient is far easier to obtain than the other two,” Metatron said, looking around the diner, “But we can’t discuss it here, I don’t want someone to thwart our plan so close to the finish line.” 

Cas nodded, thinking back to obtaining the other ingredients. He wasn’t happy about what they had needed to do to obtain a nephilim heart or the bow of a Cupid, and the idea that the final ingredient would be easier to get was a relief to him. They left the diner, transporting themselves to the nearby warehouse that Metatron had based himself at, once it was inconspicuous to do so. 

Cas yelled out when someone - a demon, it seemed - tackled him to the ground, and restrained him with angel cuffs, “Metatron, help!” 

Metatron let out a laugh, “You know, Castiel,” he said, condescending, “Sometimes working across the aisle really does benefit everyone. I wouldn’t have been able to slap the angel cuffs on you, but my demonic friends here... they got the job done.” 

Cas struggled against his restraints as Metatron crept closer. “I just need one thing from you, Castiel. I promise it won’t hurt.” 

With that, Metatron slashed the front of his throat, extracting as much grace as could fit in the container he held before him. Cas’ head lolled back and he let out a weak groan as he felt the better part of his angelic essence leave him, “Dean is going to hunt you down and skin you alive,” Cas gritted out weakly.

“If he can find me,” Metatron replied with a laugh, “And if he ever finds out what came of you.” 

Metatron and the demons disappeared, leaving Cas to revel in his newly-found near-human state, just barely able to heal the gash on his throat. He thanked a God he knew had left for the fact that Dean had imparted upon him the knowledge of how to pick the lock on a pair of handcuffs. 

Once he was free of his handcuffs, he struggled to his feet, doing a mental inventory of the objects in his possession and trying to formulate some sort of plan. He briefly cursed himself, wishing that he had made good on his promise to get a cell phone. He knew that his grace was far too depleted to transport himself back to Sioux Falls, so he did the next best thing and found himself a motel room. 

He ignored the way the teenager at the front desk eyed him when he dropped a few crumpled bills on the counter and asked for whatever room was available. Inside the room, Cas dropped his meager belongings on the bedside table, kicked off his shoes and flopped onto the dubiously-clean bed. 

Physically, he felt mostly fine. What was left of his grace had been able to heal the wounds inflicted by Metatron. Emotionally, he was distraught. He was frustrated with himself for trusting Metatron without a second thought, frustrated at himself for ruining everything he had built with Dean, and frustrated himself for losing his grace - the one thing that set him apart and made himself useful to the Winchesters. 

He was halfway through a self-pity spiral when he turned on the tv and flicked through the channels just so that he had something to do. He paused on a local news channel which was displaying a report on a weird celestial phenomenon in which it appeared that thousands upon thousands of shooting stars were falling across the globe. 

“Son of a bitch,” he yelled to nobody, echoing a phrase he had heard frequently leave Dean’s mouth at moments like this. He paced around the room, far too close to a panic attack for his comfort, though he didn’t understand the feeling as such. He stopped in his tracks, remembering a time in which Dean had pressed a note card into his hand, imploring him to keep track of it in case of an emergency. Cas had filed it into the wallet that Dean had made him carry, between the illegal credit cards, a fake drivers license, and a stash of emergency cash. 

Cas breathed a sigh of relief as he located the crumpled note card which displayed a list of emergency numbers for him to call. With trembling fingers he grabbed the phone receiver from the bedside table, and dialed the first number on the list - Dean’s. He let out a shaky breath, hoping that Dean’s anger with him had subsided enough that he would be willing to help. 

Dean answered on the first ring, “Hello?” he asked gruffly.

“Dean,” Cas sighed, “It’s me, I’m… I’m in trouble.”    
  
“Cas?” Dean replied wetly, “I thought you were fucking dead! We saw ...whatever the hell is happening with the sky and then you weren’t answering our prayers and we just… God -”

Cas closed his eyes, “Angels,” he said “They’re falling. That’s what it is.” 

“So you…” Dean started.

Cas wasn’t totally sure when he began crying, it was a completely new sensation to him and took him by surprise, “Metatron stole my grace,” he choked out between sobs “I’m so sorry Dean.” 

“Hey, it’s okay, baby,” Dean said gently, “There’s nothing to be sorry for, it’s going to be okay.” 

Cas sniffled, “I’m no use to you like this.”

“I don’t care, I’d rather have you, angel or not,” Dean said sharply, “Where are you?” 

Cas read the address off the motel keycard to Dean, wishing desperately that he could just fly to Sioux Falls like he would have been able to just a day prior. 

“That’s just a few hours,” Dean said brightly, “If I leave now, I can get to you by midnight. It’s going to be okay, Cas. I promise. Why don’t you get some rest, and I’ll call you when I’m there.”

Cas hung up the phone, and curled up in the bed, willing himself to sleep so that he could be free of thought for the few hours it would take Dean to arrive. 

-

Dean went into the living room, where Sam and Mary were still gathered in front of the tv, watching what they believed to be an abnormal meteor shower. 

He cleared his throat, “That was Cas, and uh,” he paused, trying to figure out how to word everything Cas had told him, “Those are angels that are falling. Cas’ grace was stolen and I need to go pick him up. He’s camped out in a motel for now, but I don’t feel too good leaving him out there without some protection.”

Both Sam and Mary tried to convince Dean to allow them to join, but considering the fight he and Cas had earlier in the day, he knew he needed to go bring Cas back home on his own. 

He stopped at a gas station about halfway to his destination, filling up the Impala’s tank, and perusing the convenience store’s offerings for a snack that Cas might enjoy, as a newly-minted human. 

He grabbed all of his own favorites - a selection of Chex mix, beef jerky, pre-packaged powdered donuts - and a wide variety of other items, because he was totally unsure of what Cas’ human taste buds would be like. After he had selected the appropriate snacks, he searched through the personal hygiene section, picking up the necessities for human life that Cas would be lacking - a toothbrush and toothpaste, travel-sized bottles of shampoo and body wash, deodorant and a travel first aid kit, just in case. 

Dean got progressively nervous as he got closer to the motel that Cas was staying at, unsure of how to smooth over the argument that they had - their first as a couple. He eased into the parking lot, and pulled out his phone to call Cas. 

“Hello,” Cas said drowsily, after the third ring. 

“I’m here, which room is yours?” Dean asked gently. 

Cas let out a yawn and recited his room number for Dean, who promptly got out of the car and found the door, knocking quietly. His heart clenched at the sight of a disheveled and distraught Cas, motel duvet wrapped around his shoulders as he sagged against the door frame.

“Oh, baby,” Dean said, lunging forward to hug him, “I’m so fucking sorry about earlier, god - I’m sorry about everything.” 

Cas crumpled into his arms, sobs muffled against Dean’s chest. Dean maneuvered them inside the room, closing and deadbolting the door behind them. He led Cas to the bed, setting him down gently. Dean sat down next to him, reaching one hand up to cup his face. 

“I thought you might be hungry,” Dean said, offering Cas the plastic convenience store bag, “And I got you a few other things that you’re going to need if you’re human now.” 

Cas took the bag, scrubbing at his face with the back of his hand. He pondered the contents of the bag for a moment, selecting a bag of chips and a package of powdered donuts. Cas moved to the headboard, leaning against the limp pillows as he plowed through some of the foods Dean had gotten him. 

“I also brought you a change of clothes, I didn’t have time to stop at a store so I just brought you some of mine...” Dean said as an afterthought, “Humans start to stink after a day or two in the same clothes.” 

Once Cas’ hunger and thirst were sated, he turned to Dean, “I had no idea that being a human was such an exhausting process.” 

Dean let out a laugh, leaning in to kiss Cas’ temple, “You’ll get the hang of it. Do you want to shower tonight or in the morning?” 

Cas pondered for a moment, “Can we just go to sleep? I don’t want to be a human right now.” 

Dean nodded solemnly, “Okay baby, but we need to brush our teeth first. Come on,” he said, standing up, “I’ll show you how.” 

Cas followed Dean into the bathroom, and stood by the sink, waiting to be given instructions. Dean opened the packaging on Cas’ toothbrush and handed it to him, pulling his own toothbrush from his toiletry bag. 

“Okay, so first you’re going to get it wet like this,” Dean explained, demonstrating by putting his own toothbrush under the tap, “And then you’re going to put a small amount of toothpaste on it.” 

Dean loaded up his own toothbrush, watching carefully as Cas opened the travel tube Dean had gotten him, and put a small amount on his toothbrush. “And now you’re just going to stick it in your mouth and make sure that you brush every tooth, front and back. Don’t forget your tongue either.” 

Cas and Dean brushed their teeth in silence for what Dean approximated to be two minutes. He spat his toothpaste into the sink, turning on the faucet to wash the foam down. Cas followed suit, wiping excess foam from his face with the back of his hand. The two of them walked back to the bed together, stripping down to underwear and t-shirts to sleep. 

Cas laid down, head pillowed on Dean’s chest and closed his eyes, allowing sleep to overtake him once more. 

-

Dean woke first and considered waking Cas immediately, but decided against it, enjoying the opportunity to drink in Cas’ beauty without judgement. He’d never had the opportunity before. He smirked as Cas snored softly from his place on Dean’s chest. 

Cas stirred slowly, blinking against the light that was pouring into the room. “Good morning, baby,” Dean said quietly.

Cas grumbled, mumbling something about it being too early. Dean laughed, crawling out of bed to rummage through his duffle bag. He pulled out his outfit for the day, and the change of clothes he had packed for Cas. He walked toward the bathroom, intending to let Cas sleep in while he showered, before he got an idea. “Cas, if you get up now, I’ll give you a hands-on demonstration of how to shower…” 

That promise managed to get Cas out of bed quickly. He nearly tripped over himself, stripping out of his t-shirt and boxers on the way into the bathroom. Dean stood outside the shower, waiting for the water to warm up and once he deemed it suitable, he stepped inside, beckoning for Cas to follow. 

“I knew that would convince you to get up,” Dean said with a smirk, reaching for the shampoo. 

Cas mock glared at him, stepping into the shower, “I figure if this isn’t satisfactory, I can always get back in bed.” 

Dean maneuvered Cas’ body so that the shorter man was facing away from him, and then began to lather shampoo into his hair. Cas leaned into the feeling, tilting his head back. Dean murmured instructions that he was sure were lost on Cas, but he wasn’t sure that he would mind starting every morning like this, massaging soap into his boyfriend’s scalp. 

He rinsed the shampoo out carefully, and then dealt with his own hair quickly so that he could get his hands back on Cas. He popped open the bottle of body wash, pouring a generous amount into his hands. Once he was satisfied with the lather, he went to work scrubbing gently at Cas’ skin. Cas leaned into the touch, head lolling back towards Dean as soap and water cascaded down his body. 

Dean moved from Cas’ back to his chest, scrubbing over his abs first and moving up. He was careful around his nipples, not wanting things to progress so quickly. He then massaged Cas’ shoulders and moved down his arms, scratching gently with nails as he pulled his hands back up. 

“And now,” Dean whispered, “You have to remember to wash  _ everything _ .” He trailed his hands down Cas’ abdomen, hesitating for a moment before he scrubbed at Cas’ inner thighs. 

“Dean -” Cas whined, moving back slightly to grind against him. Dean chuckled, continuing his ministrations at the creases of Cas’ thighs. Dean watched with rapt attention as Cas’ cock hardened before his eyes. Dean’s breath hitched as he moved his right hand further up, gently rubbing at Cas’ perineum and balls. 

  
“You have to make sure you clean everywhere, Cas,” Dean muttered against his ear. “Every nook and cranny, every crease and fold.” 

“De-” Cas choked as Dean moved his hand to circle Cas’ cock, his left coming up to replace his other and cup his balls. He began to slowly stroke over Cas’ length, twisting his wrist as he both moved up and down. 

“I’m just being thorough Cas,” Dean whispered teasingly, grinning against his jawline. “Wanna make sure that you know what to do.” Cas groaned as Dean tightened his hand minutely as he got closer to the head. 

“Dean, please,” Cas finally managed to get out, dropping his head back on Dean’s shoulder, the water hitting him in the chest and falling down his body. It made the slide of Dean’s hand smoother and faster. Dean watched his hand move over Cas, felt the slick skin underneath his own. He knew he was hard, knew his own dick was pressing into Cas’ tailbone, but he couldn’t focus on that right now, not when he had his angel like this. 

“You gonna come for me, baby?” Dean’s voice was low and gruff, not unlike Cas’ was all the time. It seemed that now that Cas was human, his stamina had practically plummeted, lasting only a fraction of the time he had as an angel. 

Dean was a big fan. 

“Yes, Dean, please,” Cas whimpered, bucking into Dean’s touch, spilling over his own belly and Dean’s hand only a moment later, Dean’s name repeatedly falling from his lips. Dean gently let go, bringing both his hands up to Cas’ hips, holding him loosely as his breathing evened out and he opened his eyes. 

“Hey sunshine,” Dean smiled. “How you feeling?” 

“I don’t think I should dignify that with a response,” Cas grumbled, turning so that he and Dean were chest to chest. 

“That good?” Cas rolled his eyes and glanced down between them, Dean’s own cock hard, pressing into his stomach. “You don’t have to, baby, we can just go to bed.” 

“I want to,” Cas said with a deep breath. “But not in here. On the bed.” Dean nodded and made sure they were both rinsed of all soap before turning the water off and passing Cas a towel to dry off. Neither bothered to get dressed, Cas pulling Dean out of the bathroom and over to the bed. “Sit,” he said, not quite as commanding as Dean has heard before, but he listened nonetheless. Before Dean could even ask what Cas was planning, his angel was on knees between Dean’s thighs. 

“Shit,” Dean muttered, leaning back slightly to give him a bit more room. “You gonna suck me, Cas?” 

“I am going to perform fellatio, that is correct,” Cas said, wrapping his hand around the base of Dean’s cock. 

  
“I don’t know how that shit sounds sexy when you say it,” Dean groaned, watching as Cas wrapped his lips around the tip of his cock. “Fuck…” Cas began bobbing his head slowly, allowing his lips and tongue to drag over Dean’s length. Dean knew he wouldn’t last long, not after what happened in the shower. 

Cas wasn’t nearly as adept as Dean was at blowjobs, which was to be expected given his lack of experience before Dean, but somehow they were still the best Dean had ever received. 

Dean didn’t try to grab Cas’ hair, knowing his angel wasn’t a fan, and instead he gripped the blanket under him, clenching it in his fists as Cas worked his cock over, using plenty of spit to keep things smooth. 

“Cas,” Dean grunted in warning, doing his best to keep his hips still as he neared his orgasm. Instead of pulling off, like Dean thought he would, as that was the precedent, Cas doubled his efforts, jerking Dean off as he sucked on the head, using his tongue to press along the underside. Dean gasped as he came, Cas greedily swallowing as he looked up at Dean. 

“You’ve never done that before,” Dean panted after Cas had pulled off and joined him on the bed. 

“It didn’t taste good before. Everything tasted like molecules. Now though,” Cas shrugged a little. 

“You like the taste of my jizz?” Dean asked. No one liked the taste of jizz, not even he really did, but he liked seeing his partner’s face when he swallowed. 

“It’s not the most unpleasant thing,” Cas said thoughtfully. “I’ll need to conduct more experiments to make sure of my findings.” 

“And by experiments, you mean swallowing when you blow me,” Dean said, one eyebrow raised. 

“Of course Dean, what else could I be talking about?” Dean rolled his eyes and pulled Cas up onto the bed, asking him what else was different now that he was human. Cas explained it that physical sensations, as well as emotions, were much brighter as a human. He felt things more, in this state. Touches were more intense, kisses leaving him breathless, and orgasms almost ruining him. 

Dean couldn’t wait to help him with all his experiments. 

-

A week into Cas’ newfound humanity, Sam and Dean received an ornate package on the doorstep in the middle of the night. Mary found it the next morning and brought it in, leaving it on the table for her boys. 

  
“What’s this?” Dean asked when he finally made it downstairs, a few hours after Mary. 

  
“I’m not sure. It was on the stoop this morning. It’s addressed to you and Sam.” Dean stepped closer to the box, checking it over. The box was old and had ancient Greek art around the sides, and there was no return address. There wasn’t even a shipping label, meaning that the package was dropped off by whoever sent it in the first place. 

“What the fuck,” he muttered, lifting the lid to look inside. There was a letter sitting on top of tissue paper, the envelope once more addressed to him and Sam. Dean opened the envelope and began reading aloud for his mom’s sake.

“‘Samuel and Dean Winchester, thank you for your assistance in disrupting the apocalypse that you helped start. To properly express our gratitude, we, the deities of the Old World, invite you to the Elysian Fields’ - well that doesn’t sound too bad,” Dean interjected. “‘Inside this box, you shall find a gift as another token of our appreciation. If you fail to appear before us, if you decline our offers of peace, then we shall understand that to mean that you have rebelled and we will take the appropriate measures to ensure our safety’.” 

“That...is very intense,” Mary said after a moment of silence. “I suppose you’ll be heading out this morning, then?” 

“Sure sounds like it,” Dean said and set the letter down, tearing open the tissue paper to reveal...an old chunk of rock? He hefted it out of the box and set it down on the table with a loud thump. 

“What is that?” Mary asked, coming over to inspect the object as well.    
  


“I have no idea.” The pair decided to leave it, not really wanting to mess with a gift given by several ancient Gods. Mary made them breakfast, Dean in the middle of eating his when Cas padded downstairs. Ever since becoming human, Cas had been taking his time to adjust to new habits and routines like showering and eating at least once or twice a day, but the thing he was struggling with the most by far was mornings. Cas hated getting out of bed, hated waking up and having to be productive. 

  
Dean thought it was adorable. 

“Morning, sunshine,” Dean said, holding a mug out to him. “How’d you sleep?” 

“It would have been better if I slept longer,” Cas grumbled, taking a long sip of his coffee. 

“No one was making you get up,” Dean snarked, grinning at him. 

“It’s harder to sleep when you are not there,” Cas admitted, leaning into Dean’s side. Dean’s smile melted into a softer version and he leaned in, kissing Cas’ head. 

“Sorry for abandoning you,” Dean whispered. Cas mumbled something incoherent against Dean’s shoulder. “Hey, you wanna take a look at this?” 

“What?” Cas looked up and followed Dean’s gaze to the table. “Where did that come from?” 

“You remember all those Gods that kidnapped Sam and I? Well, they’re back and saying thank you,” Dean explained. “Sent this over this morning as a gift and an invitation to come back.” 

“Are you going?” Cas asked, grabbing the letter and skimming through it. “I suppose you do not have a choice.” 

“Not really. You wanna come with this time?” Dean asked, sitting back down at the table as Cas glanced through the letter and then at the gift. 

“This is a thunderstone,” Cas said in amazement, picking it up delicately. 

  
“What does it do?” Mary asked, standing next to Cas. 

“It originated in Ancient Greece, but most cultures have something similar to the concept,” Cas said, running his fingers over the old metal. “It is an object of protection, usually placed where lightning has struck, though that was not necessary for its successful use.” 

“Well then, why don’t we put it on the mantle?” Mary suggested and gestured for Cas to take it into the living room. “Dean, go wake up your brother. You three will need to hit the road if you wanna make it to the Elysian Fields in time.” 

“There’s a time?” Dean glanced back down at the letter. 

“It’s on the back, baby,” Mary said fondly. “Now go on, you’ll all need to pack and get ready.” Dean nodded and headed upstairs to wake Sam, catching him up quickly on what was going on and where they were headed. 

Within the hour, all three men were dressed and ready to go, bags already stowed in the trunk of the Impala. Mary hugged them all and wished them a safe journey before reminding at least one of them to call or text to check in. 

“I love you boys,” she called with a wave as Dean slowly backed up out of the garage. Dean waved back, and soon they were on the road out of town and toward the address listed on the letter. 

On the drive, Cas rolled down the window of the passenger side and leaned his head against the door frame, just watching everything pass by, the wind blowing through his already tousled hair, and eyes wide in amazement. 

Dean glanced over at him every so often. Cas looked so enchanted by the world that Dean couldn’t but find it...adorable. Cas was millions of years old but based on his actions over the last week, he hadn’t ever taken the time to really appreciate what he and the other angels had created. 

Dean reached over and took Cas’ hand, lacing their fingers together on his thigh. Cas barely looked down at their joined hands before turning his attention back to the outside world, though he did squeeze Dean’s hand. 

When they finally arrived back at the Elysian Fields Hotel, the only cars in the parking lot were very expensive, very high end cars - exactly how a God would travel. The three of them headed inside, making sure to keep their guard up. The lobby was empty, but Dean figured that was because they didn’t need to keep up the pretense this time. 

They headed down the hallway to the large banquet room, pushing the doors open to see the Gods sitting around a U-shaped table. It was all the same Gods as their previous visit. 

“Nice to see you received our message,” one of the Goddesses - Artemis - said, a silver bow and quiver slung over her back.

Loud and clear,” Dean said with a tight smile. “Now, I hate to be abrupt, but why are we here?”

“We wanted to show our appreciation for the two men who stopped the apocalypse,” another God said. “And to make sure that this wouldn’t happen again.” 

“Trust me, it wasn’t intentional,” Sam rolled his eyes. “We’ll do our best to make sure we don’t start armageddon again.” 

“Good, because if you do, then we won’t hesitate to complete our mission,” one of the Gods threatened, eyes narrowing at them. 

“Alright, guys,” it was Loki, the God that spoke up for them last time, interrupted. “Enough with the dick measuring contest. We invited them here to thank them for stopping the apocalypse and saving this planet.” Dean felt Cas tug harshly at his jacket then, but ignored him as Loki continued talking. “Despite the fact they started it, which we all know was premeditated by the Angels, they ended it, and for that we are indebted.” 

“Thanks, but we’d rather just have our hands clean of the entire situation,” Dean said with a shrug. “So if that was everything…” 

“Yes, you are free to go,” Artemis said snidely. “I suggest you never get yourselves in enough trouble that this has to happen again?” 

“Sounds good, boss,” Dean smirked. “You all have a good day, uh, doing whatever it is Gods do.” With that, Cas and Dean were following Sam from the room, hightailing it back to the Impala. 

“Dean!” Cas said once they reached the parking lot. “You have to listen to me!” 

“Does it have to be right now, Cas? I kind of want to put as much distance between us and them as possible!” 

“Yes! The God, Loki - that wasn’t actually Loki!” Cas panted slightly, his human form not nearly as in shape as his angelic power kept him. 

“What? What do you mean it wasn’t Loki?” Sam asked. “If it wasn’t Loki, then who was it?” 

“The archangel Gabriel.” 

-

Sam and Dean agreed to stay overnight as by the time they left the hotel, it was too late to drive back to Sioux Falls and be home at a reasonable hour. They grabbed a motel room a good 50 miles down the highway and when they got inside, Dean and Cas sat on one of the beds and Sam sat across from them on the other. 

“We need more detail now, Cas,” Dean said gently. “That was Gabriel? The archangel who’s been missing?” 

“Gabriel disappeared eons ago, just after Michael locked Lucifer in the cage,” Cas explained. “Most of us thought he was off planet, or in another universe maybe. I never imagined he would be here, hiding in plain sight.” 

“Another universe?” Sam asked, jaw dropping. “There are other universes?” 

“Not now,” Dean shot his brother a glare. “And now he’s back, essentially making sure we stop the apocalypse?” 

“Gabriel was always...kinder than others. Michael, Lucifer, and Raphael. He helped fledgling angels and taught us to love humans, as God wanted. He hated seeing his brothers and our Father fighting, and tried to stop it whenever he could. It was never enough,” Cas sighed and looked down at his lap, picking at his nails. “I do not know why he would decide to reveal himself now.” 

“I don’t think he intended to,” Dean said, looking up at Cas, “The only way we know it is because of your leftover grace.”

“By the way,” Sam said, curiously, “Do the angels who fell have leftover grace? Or is it different since yours was stolen?”

Dean shot another glare at Sam, unsure if Cas would want to discuss it, but Cas spoke up anyway, “No, the angels who fell will have no memory of their time as angels, and will not have any remainder of grace within them.” 

“So,” Sam said, “It stands to reason that Gabriel may have thought that nobody would be able to see his true form.”

“Alright, well I say we get some sleep. We can look into it further when we’re home.” Dean said, kicking off his shoes. The other two nodded, and Sam went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

“How are you doing, baby?” Dean asked Cas, pressing a kiss to his temple. 

“I didn’t like the tone or implications from the Gods earlier,” he said frankly, “I don’t trust them.” 

“I don’t either,” Dean replied, standing up from the bed as Sam came out of the bathroom, “But I don’t think we can worry about that right now. You coming with me?” 

Cas nodded, following Dean into the bathroom. They brushed their teeth together in silence, bumping into each other and giggling. If Dean thought about it, he couldn’t remember a time when he was this happy with someone, even in the earliest stages. 

By the time they were done in the bathroom, Sam was already snoring away on his bed. Dean and Cas crawled under the covers of their own bed, whispering and giggling until sleep overtook them as well. 

-

They woke up bright and early, knowing that they needed to get back to Sioux Falls so that they could research Gabriel more in-depth in the collection of lore books shared between Mary and Bobby. In order to convince Cas to get out of bed, Dean swore on his life that he would stop at a diner and buy Cas breakfast once they had made good time. 

Sam dozed off in the back of the Impala while Cas and Dean chatted idly about life in general - actively avoiding discussion of what had happened with Metatron and the angels. Once Dean decided that they had made enough headway, he pulled off at the nearest exit and set out to find a diner. 

They slid into a booth - Cas and Dean on one side, and Sam across from them. Dean ordered for both himself and Cas, because Cas was still unsure of exactly what his human tastes were like. No matter how much milk and sugar Cas put into his coffee, he still grimaced when he drank it. Of all the mysteries of humanity, their taste for the bitter liquid remained indecipherable to him. 

On the other hand, he was more than happy to shovel forkful after forkful of whipped cream and syrup laden waffles into his mouth, only occasionally remembering that he needed to breathe. He wasn’t aware of it, but Sam smiled as he watched his brother postpone eating his own breakfast just to stare at the former angel. Sam’s own breakfast was interrupted when his phone began vibrating on his pocket. He pulled it out of his pocket, and when he saw that it was his mother, he stepped outside to take it. 

“Hey Sam,” Mary said, “How far out are you guys?”

Sam checked the time on his phone, “We stayed like, 50 miles out of Muncie last night and left around 6 this morning. We’re stopping for breakfast so I’d say we’ll be home around 7 or 8. Is everything okay?” 

“Yeah,” Mary replied quickly, “I just found a couple of strange things in your father’s stuff and I want your help figuring out what it all means.” 

Sam nodded, even though Mary couldn’t see him, “Okay, Mom, we’ll see you tonight. Call us if you need anything else.” 

Cas and Dean had finished their breakfast by the time Sam was done with his phone call, so he got it boxed up as he quickly explained his phone call with Mary. 

“I wish I could just transport us back there immediately,” Cas said mournfully “I’m sorry that I can’t be of more use to you.” 

Dean patted his thigh as he signaled for the waitress to bring their bill, “It’s okay buddy, the Impala is fast, we’ll get there just fine.” 

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, you can find me on tumblr @hellerjesuschrist, and Emily @hazloveshisboo.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I would say this is when it starts to deviate most from canon, but if you ask me, it's for the better.

Though it was decently late by the time that Sam, Dean, and Cas arrived at the house in Sioux Falls, Mary sat on the couch, flipping through channels on the tv. The boys dropped their bags off in their bedrooms, and then came back to join Mary, who had migrated to the kitchen, box in hand. 

“I found some of your father’s stuff when I was cleaning out the basement. In this box, there’s a journal from your grandfather Henry. He left when your dad was young but… it looks like he was a Man of Letters. I always thought they were just a myth but he goes into pretty extensive detail about their bunker and the things they hunted… I think it might be worth a shot to go investigate. I can’t even imagine the library they have there.” 

Dean nodded slowly, “Do we know where to find it? Or how to get inside if we do?”

“It’s in Lebanon, Kansas, and,” Mary picked up a smaller box and handed it to him, “I think this is the key he talks about.”

“Why didn’t Dad ever know about any of this?” Sam asked.

Mary looked down at the table, “Henry abandoned his wife and your father, and John didn’t want anything to do with him. He never got over it.” 

Dean let out a sigh, “Okay, well I need to get some sleep if we’re heading out to Lebanon tomorrow, I’ll see you guys bright and early.” 

-

The drive to Lebanon was just under six hours, so they left early the next morning and were there by one in the afternoon. Dean and Cas climbed out of the Impala, Mary and Sam exiting her much newer Subaru. 

  
“This is it?” Dean asked, looking over at Mary. “This is...it’s an abandoned power plant.” 

“This is what the journal said,” Mary grabbed it from the backseat of her car and opened it up. “It says that we’ll need the key, there’s no other way to enter. That it will be an underground entrance and look inconsequential to the human eye.”

“Good thing we aren’t human then,” Dean said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “Let’s start looking.” Sam and Mary began walking around the perimeter of the building one way and Dean and Cas took the other way. 

It didn’t take long, Sam calling Dean and telling him to meet them at the backside of the plant. When Dean and Cas joined Sam and Mary, there was a shallow staircase leading to a heavy metal door. 

“This certainly looks like what Henry describes,” Mary said, pulling the key from her pocket. “Let’s try it.” Mary walked down the steps and fit the key into the large lock on the door. There was a heavy sound of a lock unlatching and then the door slowly swung open. 

“Welcome to Narnia,” Dean muttered as they stepped through the door. He pulled a flashlight from his pocket and turned it on, slowly scanning around them. It seemed as if they were on a balcony of some kind. He turned his attention to the wall and soon found a large metal box and when opened, revealed two large levers. He pulled the first one and all around them, the room began lighting up. 

“That’s…” Sam peered over the railing. “That’s a switchboard, a HAM Radio, telegraph. They must have had a whole network across the country.” 

“That’s certainly what it looks like,” Mary descended the stairs, going to the table in the center of the room, a map of the world lighting up on top. Dean flipped the other lever, and all four turned to see the next room lighting up. Dean, Cas, and Sam joined Mary on the lower level, peering into the next room. 

“Son of a bitch,” Dean said as they walked into what could only be described as a library, sturdy wood tables lining the middle of the room while the walls were covered in shelves, along with small bookcases jutting out. 

“This is...quite the collection,” Mary said, running her finger over one of the tables as they ventured further into the room, wrinkling her nose at the thick layer of dust. “A collection that needs to be cleaned.” 

Cas had wandered over to one of the many shelves and was inspecting an artifact. “This is an Enochian puzzle box. How did these men get their hands on one?” 

“A what, babe?” Dean asked, coming over to look at what Cas was holding. 

“Enochian puzzle box. It is, at its base form, a very complicated prison,” Cas explained. “Fortunately, I cannot feel any presence inside the box, but how did the Men of Letters find one in the first place?” 

“That’s a very good question,” Dean said, glancing around. “I think we better keep exploring. I’m sure this place is like the fucking TARDIS.”

“I don’t understand that reference,” Cas frowned, tilting his head in confusion.

“Bigger on the inside,” Dean said with a small smile. “Come on,” he tugged at Cas’ hand and they took off down one of the hallways. They found a kitchen, unfortunately full of food that looked like it had gone bad decades ago, a room full of computers, and storage rooms filled to bursting with dusty boxes. As they continued down the hallway, it looped around to a corridor of bedrooms as well as a communal bathroom. They ended up back in the library, Sam and Mary had already pulled books from the shelves to flip through them. 

“What’d you find?” Sam asked, looking up from the ancient tome spread open in front of him. 

“This wasn’t just a base of operations, this was where they lived,” Dean said, sitting down across from him. “Bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom. And at least ten rooms of nothing but boxes.” 

“It seems their collection is quite extensive,” Cas agreed, sitting next to Dean. “Have you found anything that might indicate where the Men of Letters disappeared to?” 

“Not really,” Sam shook his head. “But we did find some stuff. Up on the balcony, there’s a chessboard that looks like it was in the middle of a game, with an empty coffee cup and a full ashtray.” 

“There were dishes on the counter,” Dean said. “Dirty ones. And the kitchen was full of old food.” 

“I think,” Mary interjected, setting down a leather-bound book in the middle of the table, “that there are no more Men of Letters.” Sam pulled the book a bit closer and began flipping through the pages. It was akin to a photo album or scrapbook, with different pictures of the Men of Letters dated as far back as 1935, but then, in 1958, the pictures suddenly stopped. 

“What do you think happened to them?” Dean asked, looking between Sam and Mary. 

“I think that’s something we might have to do some research on,” Mary said, flipping the book closed. 

-

It was a natural transition that, when they got tired of exploring the bunker, they determined that its relative cleanliness was enough for them to stay in, at least for a bit. Mary and Sam went to a nearby store to buy some cleaning supplies and to pick up dinner, while Cas and Dean stripped some beds, washing the sheets and comforters in the incredibly retro laundry room. 

While they waited for the bedding to dry, Cas and Dean decided which bedroom would be theirs, intentionally choosing one that was further from the other two, just in case their stay turned out to be longer than a few days. By the time they finished remaking the beds, Sam and Mary returned, arms full of bags from a local grocery store and takeout from a nearby burger joint. 

“I say we eat dinner, and then we can get to work cleaning up a bit,” Mary said, breathing a bit heavily.

“Sounds good to me,” Dean replied, “Cas and I washed the bedding, so we can all sleep here tonight without worrying about who slept in the beds before us.” 

Sam and Mary spread out an array of food and drinks across the large table in the library. Everyone dug into the food, enjoying the comfortable silence and each other’s company for a few moments.

“So,” Dean said, breaking the silence, “What’s our plan here, exactly?”

“I think it would be advisable to find as much information as we can about the archangel Gabriel, and see what we can do from there. I suggest we look into Loki’s lore as well,” Cas replied around a mouthful of food. 

The days passed similarly, everyone would wake up and read through books and files for as long as they could, and when they couldn’t handle any more of that, they took shifts cleaning up various parts of the bunker so that it remained inhabitable. 

By the time it became obvious that their quest for information wouldn’t end any time soon - after nearly a week, Mary announced to the boys that she needed to head back to Sioux Falls, and that any of them who wanted to join here were more than welcome. Though Dean had never lived away from his mother, staying in this bunker, where he had some semblance of a life and purpose, was an easy choice for him to make. While Sam grappled with the choice a bit more, ultimately he knew that he was an integral part of the research team, and didn’t feel right leaving the whole task to Dean and Cas. 

Mary set out early in the morning, smiling at the reflection of her three boys in the rearview mirror. 

-

It took three weeks of living in the bunker and reading book after book and file after file before they found a way to summon Gabriel. Dean was skimming through an old book on angelic lore when he found the spell, calling Sam and Cas in to look at it. He showed them the specific passage, waiting impatiently as they read through it. 

“Think it’ll work?” Dean asked, looking specifically at Cas, knowing he would have the best insight. 

“I think it will. It might be difficult to find all these ingredients but-”

“Actually,” Sam interrupted. “We have at least half of those here. I’ve been going through all the storerooms too, and I know I’ve seen a bunch of that stuff.” 

“Great, why don’t we go grab what we do have, and then we can start trying to find what we’re missing?” Dean suggested, pushing himself up from the chair. He swiped the book from the table as he followed Sam and Cas back to one of the storage rooms, boxes open and contents spread over the entire floor. “You’ve been busy.” 

“Yeah,” Sam nodded. “There’s a lot to get through. And I haven’t even heard of half of this stuff.” 

“Alright, nerd, let’s get digging,” Dean said, and read over the list of ingredients one more time before they began their search. It took them a few hours but they were able to track down all but two of the ingredients, which Sam immediately began researching once they had everything collected on one of the tables in the library. 

“Alright, Bobby has one of the ingredients, said he’ll overnight it to us, and that there’s an alchemist down in Lake of the Ozarks that will probably have the other,” Sam said after hanging up the phone, turning to look at Cas and Dean. “So who’s going and who’s staying?” 

“Why don’t you go get the stuff from the alchemist, and me and Cas will stay here and keep going through all this junk?” Dean suggested. He knew he was likely being transparent, that Sam could see right through him. 

“Are you gonna let me take the Impala?” Sam asked, smirking a little. 

“Absolutely fucking not. There is a garage full of beautiful, classic cars, you can pick any one of them!” Dean said, glaring at Sam across the table. “Tell me which car you want and then go pack your shit.” 

  
“Why do you need to know which car I’m taking? To cut the brake lines?” Sam asked, knowing his older brother was likely to sabotage his ride - though not to the extreme of actual endangerment. 

“So I can make sure it’s all in working order, dipshit,” Dean rolled his eyes. 

“The red Bel Air,” Sam said as he stood from the table and headed down the hallway to his bedroom. Cas followed Dean out to the garage, leaning against one of the other cars as Dean grabbed the keys to Sam’s chosen vehicle and drove it up to the middle, facing the door. 

Cas simply watched as Dean inspected the car thoroughly, opening up the hood and checking every part. “Are you sending Sam away so that we can have penetrative anal sex?” he asked, frowning as Dean jerked up and slammed his head on the hood of the car. 

“Jesus, Cas,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his head. “You can’t just say shit like that.” 

“How else would you like me to phrase it?” Cas asked, giving Dean his signature head tilt that he couldn’t help but find endearing. 

“Just say fucking, baby, that’s all,” Dean sighed and walked over to Cas, leaning in to kiss him briefly. “And yes, that is why I’m sending Sam to the Ozarks while we stay here. We finally have our room, away from Sam and my mom, and now the bunker is gonna be empty. Just the two of us.” 

“So you can be as loud as you want,” Cas inferred, causing Dean to splutter. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Dean asked, eyes wide as he looked at Cas. 

  
“You are very vocal when I am pleasuring you, Dean,” Cas said simply. “I enjoy knowing that you are finding pleasure in what I do to you.” Dean blushed a bit at that and kissed Cas again. 

“Yeah, yeah, so I can be as loud as I want,” he muttered, pulling back just as Sam walked in with a bag slung over his shoulder. 

“Is it good to go?” he asked, gesturing to the car when Dean just looked at him dumbly.

“Oh, yeah, it’s all good Sammy, mint condition,” he tossed Sam the keys, going back over to the car to shut the hood. “Be careful, okay? And call if you need anything.” 

“You know I will,” Sam said, pulling Dean into a brief hug before tossing his bag into the backseat and hopping into the driver’s side. “Have fun without me.” With a smirk and a simple wave of his hand, Sam was driving out of the garage. 

-

As eager as Dean was to get Cas into bed, he also wanted to make it special for his angel. Cas had never done this before and Dean was determined to make it as good as possible. They spent the rest of the day going through various boxes from the storerooms, cataloging what they found. When five o’clock rolled around, Dean excused himself to go make dinner, whipping up Cas’ current favorite: chicken fried steak with gravy and all the fixin’s. 

Once he had finished cooking, he called Cas into the kitchen and they ate sitting next to each other at the table. They bantered between bites, some part of them always touching the other. 

“I cooked which means you clean,” Dean declared once they had finished. “And besides, I need to go shower.” 

“Shower?” Cas asked hopefully. Since becoming human, one of Cas’ favorite pastimes was showering - with Dean. It rarely turned sexual, as it had their first experience, but it was always intimate. 

“Not this time, babe, a man has to have some dignity,” Dean leaned in and kissed Cas before he could protest. “Get the dishes and I’ll meet you in our room.” Cas agreed, grabbing their plates as Dean headed out of the kitchen and down the hallway to the bathroom. 

Dean took his time as he showered, making sure  _ everywhere  _ was washed - he had no doubt that he would be the one bottoming and he wanted to be as prepared as possible. 

After toweling himself dry, Dean forewent his clothes and padded down to his and Cas’ room naked, hair still dripping onto his shoulders. He opened the bedroom door to reveal Cas sitting on the edge of their bed, still wearing his t-shirt - that was actually Dean’s - and jeans. 

“You look exquisite,” Cas breathed, reaching out toward Dean. Dean let his angel pull him in close, and closer until he was straddling Cas’ lap.

“You don’t look too bad yourself. I like you wearing my clothes,” Dean said, leaning in to kiss Cas soundly. The other man pulled him tighter, hands running up and down Dean’s bare back until they finally settled on his ass. “I...I got myself cleaned up in the shower. And there’s lube in my bedside drawer.”

“Did you want to use an external contraceptive?” Cas asked earnestly. Dean smiled a little and kissed Cas’ eyebrow. 

“We can if you want. I’ve got some condoms but...I get tested every so often and my last one was just before you and I got together,” he explained, tugging lightly at Cas’ hair. 

“I would prefer to feel all of you,” Cas said, not taking his eyes from Dean’s. “To be as close to you as possible.”

“I would like that,” Dean whispered, licking his lips. “Bit of a kink for me but I’ve never trusted someone enough before.”

“I would be honored to be the first person to have coitus with you without the barrier of the...condom,” Cas said and Dean couldn’t hold back his laugh. 

“I swear, man, if anyone else talked like that, I’d find it annoying as all hell,” he said, leaning down to kiss along Cas’ jaw. “But when it comes from you....somehow I find it sexy. Everything about you is sexy.” 

“I am attracted to every part of you as well, Dean,” Cas spoke softly, hands moving from Dean’s thighs, over his hips, and to his ass. “Is there a specific position that you would like to utilize tonight?”

“Doggy style is the easiest but,” Dean bit his lip. He wanted to see Cas, be able to watch his face and his little expressions as he fucked Dean. “For our first time I want to be on my back.”

“That would be my preferred position as well,” Cas agreed, and before Dean could think about moving, he was on his back in the middle of their bed. Cas may not be an angel anymore but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still strong. 

Dean took a deep breath and grabbed one of the pillows, holding it out to Cas. “Put it under my hips and my tailbone. It’ll make everything easier.” Cas did as he was instructed, making sure Dean was comfortable. Dean watched as Cas slowly climbed over him, but rather than touch him, he leaned to the left to grab the lube from the bedside drawer. 

“Dean, are you sure that would like to be the one that is penetrated?” Cas asked, sitting back so he was kneeling on Dean’s calves. 

“Yeah babe, I’m sure,” he huffed a laugh. “This time anyway. We’ll have to explore you being the one that’s penetrated another time.” Cas dropped the lube onto Dean’s stomach and then tugged his shirt over his head, throwing it off the bed. 

Dean had seen Cas shirtless quite a few times now, with their morning ritual of showering together, but it never failed to take his breath away. 

“Gonna stretch me out?” Dean asked. He tapped Cas’ thigh to get him to move, allowing Dean to spread his legs out, bending them at the knee so his feet were flat on the bed. Dean tried to keep his breathing steady as Cas coated his fingers with the lube methodically.

“Are you ready for my fingers to enter your anus?” Cas asked and Dean groaned, nodding quickly. 

“I am, but please never fucking call my ass ‘anus’ again,” Dean grumbled. Cas didn’t respond and while Dean knew he could look down to watch, he wanted to let Cas take the reins as much as he could. 

Dean waited, squirming a little at the lack of touch. He was just about to break and look down when he felt the pad of a finger rub over his hole, dipping shallowly inside with every other pass. Dean whimpered a little as Cas’ finger finally pushed in. While Dean was not a stranger to being the catcher, it had been quite some time. Even before he met Cas, the most he had done for months was handjobs in a dingy bathroom of a dive bar. 

“You must tell me when you are sufficiently stretched and ready for another one of my fingers,” Cas said after a long moment and Dean nodded instantly. 

“I’m ready, Cas, please, want more,” Dean begged, hands coming up to grab Cas’ shoulders, nails digging into his skin. Cas slowly fucked a second finger into Dean, pressing soft kisses to his chest and upper arms as he prepared him. 

“Dean, you are not fully erect,” Cas said suddenly. “Are you not aroused by my actions?”

“I am, baby, I am, I promise. This part just ain’t the most fun. There’s...the prostate, you gotta find that to make it real good,” Dean explained, panting heavily as he tried to make his brain work properly. 

“I see. Where is your prostate?” Cas asked, tilting his head as he looked up at Dean. 

“Ain’t that far back just, a few inches and bend your fingers up toward my dick,” Dean rolled his hips down on Cas’ fingers. “Now come on, move, please. Want your cock.” Cas nodded and began fucking Dean with his fingers once more, aiming and bending them as Dean had directed. 

“Is that your prostate?” Dean shook his head as Cas rubbed at his walls, getting close but  _ not quite.  _

“Trust me, babe, you’ll know because I-” Dean interrupted himself with a loud moan, body tensing and back arching. “That’s it! That’s it, right there!” Cas continued his ministrations in that exact spot, spreading his fingers as well. Dean gasped and pushed down against Cas’ hand as he pleaded and whined for a third finger. 

“I have never seen you quite so…” Cas didn’t finish his sentence and somewhere in the back of Dean’s mind, he was proud that he had reduced his angel, who knew every language that had ever been spoken, to speechlessness. 

“Come on, baby,” Dean trailed his hand down Cas’ arm, squeezing his elbow. “Give me another.” Dean groaned as Cas finally slid another finger in, stretching and spreading Dean open to ready him. Dean fucked himself down on the digits, wanting Cas to be inside him. 

“Are you ready for me to enter your...ass?” 

“Yes! Yes please, baby, I’m ready!” Dean whined as Cas removed his fingers, spreading his legs even more. Cas slid off the bed and Dean watched as he undid the button and zipper of his jeans, shucking them off his legs as quickly as he could. “Cas…” 

“Dean,” Cas climbed back on top of the bed, placing his hands on the back of Dean’s thighs and pushing them up so that Dean was spread open for him. “Hold your legs,” Cas ordered, and Dean scrambled to obey. He gripped his legs around his knees and pulled them back even more, stretching his thigh muscles to an almost uncomfortable level. Dean panted heavily as Cas knelt between his legs, one hand on his cock to spread lube and, despite how many times Dean had seen Cas naked, he’ll never get over it. 

“C’mon Cas, please,” Dean whimpered, sighing as Cas finally pressed the blunt head of his length against Dean’s hole. “Fuck me!” Just as Dean shouted, Cas finally pressed in. “Shit, fuck, oh my god.” Dean threw his head back against the pillow as Cas filled him, hands tightening around his legs until his skin was taut and white. He kept muttering until Cas was balls deep and still. 

“Dean, are you alright?” Cas asked, voice shaking slightly. Dean nodded vigorously, letting go of one of his legs to grab Cas’ shoulder. “Would you like for me to move now?” 

“Fuck, please,” Dean gasped as Cas finally began to fuck him. Dean let his eyes flutter closed as Cas began fucking him, his thrusts awkward and stilted as he slowly found his rhythm. Dean whispered and muttered curses and pleas, hands moving to grip anywhere on Cas they could reach. 

After one particularly hard tug from Dean, Cas’ knees slipped and he fell forward so that Dean’s legs were pressed to his chest and they were even closer, breathing the same air. “Cas,” Dean was barely audible as he spoke. His eyes were hazy, cheeks blotchy, and lips swollen. Cas wasn’t much better with flushed skin and sweaty, messy hair. Cas moved his hands so they were flat on the bed next to Dean’s head and gripped the sheets tight as he started fucking into him again, this time the angle allowing him to perfectly rub at Dean’s prostate with every thrust. 

“Cas!” Dean clenched his eyes shut and forced his face into Cas’ neck, holding his angel as tight as he could. “Cas, baby...please.” 

  
“I’ve got you Dean,” Cas mumbled, planting his knees and feet into the bed to give him better stability as he sped his hips up, his and Dean’s skin slapping together, the sound mixing with their grunts, pants, and cries. 

“I’m close,” Dean dug his nails into the meat of Cas’ shoulder as he was fucked harder, Cas slamming into him. “I’m gonna-” he moaned as he spilled over his own and Cas’ belly, smearing on their skin as Cas continued to pound into him. “Come in me, Cas, please…” 

  
Cas only lasted another moment before stilling while he was buried inside Dean, cock twitching as he came, orgasm rushing through him. Dean watched as Cas worked through his climax, reveling in the look of pure pleasure that painted his features. 

Dean and Cas laid together, unmoving, on the bed, for a long while after their breathing had evened and their bodies were stuck together. “That was…like nothing I’ve ever felt before.” Cas eventually whispered, not wanting to break the intimacy of the moment. 

“Yeah? My ass just that good?” Dean teased, though kept his voice just as hushed as Cas’. 

“Yes,” Cas said with a smile. “But also...experiencing this now as a human is just different to what it was as an angel. Even though we never did this before, I just feel everything….more now.” 

Dean rubbed Cas’ back as he mulled over his words. “I’m glad I could make you feel so good,” he finally settled with, nuzzling his nose into Cas’ pulse point. The smell of his sweat made Dean’s cock twitch again, but he knew he couldn’t actually do anything else. “Come on, we better clean up. Wanna shower together?” 

“I will always wish to shower with you, Dean,” Cas said. “The routine of washing with you has become one that I appreciate very much.” 

“Glad you like it so much, Cas,” Dean chuckled and pulled him down for a kiss. “Now come on, you’re gonna have to help me walk.” 

-

Sam returned late the next evening with the last ingredient they would need for the spell to summon Gabriel. Dean and Cas were in the library making sure everything else was in order when Sam walked in and set the bag on the table. 

“Everything else ready?” Sam asked. 

“Measured and bagged up, Cas suggested we go out to the field next to the plant; not sure if Gabriel would be able to get through all the warding even with a summoning spell,” Dean explained, gesturing to everything on the table. “Let’s go.” 

The three men gathered everything they would need for the spell and headed outside and across the gravel road. They made sure to put a bit of space between themselves and the bunker, not sure how much of an impact an archangel summoning spell would have. 

Dean and Sam stood back as Cas put together the actual spell and said the incantations, as they were in Enochian - a language they could barely speak the basics of. Just as Cas threw the last ingredient in and spoke the last word, the ground shook, thunder boomed, and suddenly there, standing in front of them, was the archangel Gabriel. 

It was silent for a long moment, Gabriel looking between the three of them with a blank face. “Why did you summon me?” he finally asked. “What could the Winchesters need my help with?” 

“You know what’s going on with Heaven,” Dean said, meeting Gabriel’s eyes. “You know what Metatron did.” 

“I am aware, yes,” Gabriel agreed and then turned to Castiel. “He stole your grace, made you a human.” 

“Yes. It was the last ingredient of the spell Metatron was using to make the angels fall,” Cas confirmed. “I have been human for several weeks now.” 

“Why did you summon me here?” Gabriel asked, turning to look at Sam instead. 

“We need to know what to do,” Sam replied, taking a deep breath. “What exactly happened and what can we do to fix it?” Gabriel was quiet, as if taking a moment to think. 

“The angels fell. Metatron is the only angel in Heaven and the doors are locked. No soul is getting in or out,” Gabriel explained. “Which means those pearly gates need to be reopened.” 

“Wait, no souls are getting in?” Dean asked, eyebrows raised. “So when someone dies…” 

“Either they go to Hell, as they were intended, or they’re stuck in limbo,” Gabriel explained. “The void is crowded and spirits are getting restless.” 

“Okay, so we have to find a way to open Heaven back up to the masses, and stop Metatron,” Sam nodded a little, glancing over at Dean and Cas. “Guess it’s time to start hitting the books again.” 

“If that’s all?” Gabriel raised his eyebrows. 

“Yes, that is all we required from you, unless there is any other information that would be beneficial,” Cas finally spoke again, watching Gabriel a bit nervously. 

“The angels...I would track some down,” he advised. “They might be able to help.” 

“Thanks,” Dean grumbled. “For all your wonderful help.” 

“Anytime, chuckleheads,” Gabriel grinned for the first time. “Except not really. If you summon me again, I might not be so generous.” 

“Thank you for your help, Gabriel,” Cas said before either Winchester could. “We do greatly appreciate the aid that you’ve given us. It will help in our quest to reopen Heaven and take down Metatron.” 

“I suppose you three did save the world and stop the Apocalypse,” Gabriel shrugged. “World would have gone to shit. Way I see it, you fellas deserve some help. And maybe something else…” 

“Something else?” Sam narrowed his eyes. Usually,  _ something else  _ in their world wasn’t all that great. 

“I would very much appreciate it if you all didn’t say anything about my, you know, current existence,” Gabriel said. “No one else knows I’m still alive.” 

“That is something we can do,” Cas agreed, giving Sam and Dean a hard look - they both nodded quickly. 

“Perfect! Samantha, have fun with your something else!” Gabriel disappeared in a dramatic puff and smoke and sparks and once it cleared, there, standing in the grass, was Bela Talbot. 

-

The three men stood silently, staring at Bela, and in return, she stared back with a deer in headlights expression on her face. It was a very long, awkward silence until Sam finally broke and stepped forward.

“Bela,” he said gently, reaching out to put his hand on her shoulder, “Do you remember me?” 

She jerked back violently at the contact, but gave a slight nod. Sam pulled back immediately and then raised his hands to show that he didn’t intend to hurt her, “Okay, it’s okay. Do you know where you are?” 

She shook her head, eyes darting around like she was afraid someone was going to jump out and grab her. Sam kept his voice low, ignoring the way he knew that his brother and Cas were watching the two of them, “Do you trust me?” Bela hesitated, but nodded, “We’re by a … It’s kind of like a bunker, it’s very well-warded and safe. Will you come inside with me?” 

Bela stalled, eyes settling on Cas and Dean who stood watching from a good distance away. “That’s just my brother and his boyfriend,” Sam said, “They won’t hurt you, it’s okay.” 

With a lot of coaxing, Bela finally followed Sam into the bunker, Cas and Dean trailing behind at a comfortable distance. Once everyone was inside and the door was securely locked, Cas and Dean disappeared to their bedroom, leaving Sam and Bela in the library. 

“I, uh… I can help you find a bedroom,” Sam said awkwardly gesturing at the hallway, unsure of how to proceed. Bela nodded slowly, making to follow him down the hallway. Sam opened the door to one of the unused bedrooms and led Bela inside. He gestured toward a twin bed which had sheets but no comforter, “We changed all the bedding recently, so it’s clean, but I’ll go get you a comforter.” 

He was nearly to the door when he heard Bela speak for the first time since her resurrection, “Wait,”. Sam whipped around, eyes searching her face, “I don’t want to be alone,” she said, voice raspy from disuse. 

“Okay,” Sam said, eyes filled with concern, “Do you want to come with me?” 

Bela nodded, so they both made their way to the hall closet. Sam grabbed a comforter and some towels off the shelves, “We have some soap and toothpaste you can use, but if you want to pick up your own stuff, we can drive into town and go to Walmart or something.” 

Bela nodded, smiling politely. “Oh, god,” Sam said, “I can’t believe I haven’t even asked, are you hungry? Thirsty?” 

Sam set the towels on the small desk in the corner of the room, and then smoothed the comforter out on the bed. He walked out of the room towards the kitchen, assuming that Bela was following. 

“What do you want? I could make you a sandwich, some ramen… cereal… We don’t cook much here,” Sam admitted with a laugh, “I bet I could get Dean to go get some takeout if you want that.” 

“A sandwich would be good, thank you,” Bela said quietly, looking down at the table, “How long was I… what year is it?” 

“You were down there for just over a year,” Sam said quietly, “But I know it felt like -”

“So many lifetimes. I don’t even really remember...before.”

Not knowing how to respond to that, Sam turned around and busied himself making a sandwich for her, “Do you want anything to drink? We have beer, whiskey, coffee, tea… water…”

“As good as a real drink sounds right now, I’ll take tea.” Bela said with a hint of a laugh. 

-

Sam and Bela talked for hours, pointedly avoiding the subject of their stays in Hell. Sam updated her on the way that life had progressed since the last time she had been on Earth, explained the situation with the angels and the fact that one of the former angels was now dating Dean. 

When he noticed that Bela was overwhelmed by the intake of information, he suggested that it was time for bed - it had long gone dark outside anyway. 

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked, concerned. 

She looked down, “I’m… not sure,” she said quietly, “I don’t want to be alone.” 

“Okay,” Sam said, walking with her to her room, “I’ll stay with you, at least until you fall asleep.”

Sam sat down in the chair in the corner of her room, kicking off his shoes. “I think I want to take a shower,” Bela said quietly. 

Sam nodded, picking up two of the towels he had placed in the room just a few hours earlier. He paused at the hall closet, grabbing a spare toothbrush and some toothpaste, “There’s a few options for bathrooms here - this place is built to hold like, 30 people - but I’ll show you the nicest one. The one closest to you is down that way,” he said, pointing down the hall, “But the showers are communal which… don’t go in if you see Cas and Dean going in together.” 

Bela let out a faint laugh, following Sam toward the other bathroom. He flung open the door, ushering her inside. “I’ll get the shower running for you, the knobs can be a bit tricky sometimes.” 

He set down the towels on the counter nearest to the large shower and turned it on. “You can use my shampoo today, and I’ll take you out tomorrow or sometime this week to get some more,” he yelled out over the surprisingly powerful water pressure. By the time he turned around, sure that the shower was finally warm enough, Bela was fully naked. 

Sam faltered, averting his eyes as quickly as possible, a vibrant blush painted across his face, “I, uh, I’ll just go wait over … there,” he said, gesturing to the far side of the bathroom, “Just call out if you need me,” 

Bela stepped into the shower, cranking the temperature as high as it would go. She smiled to herself a bit, knowing there was a joke in there about Hell and water temperatures. She grabbed the shampoo, squeezing out way more than necessary in the hopes that maybe she could scrub away centuries of torment with drugstore shampoo. She rinsed the shampoo out and considered a second round for good measure, but decided to lather up her body instead. She scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed until her skin was raw, still positive that she was covered in several lifetimes worth of blood and dirt and grime. Once she was satisfied, she turned off the shower and leaned out to grab one of the towels that was waiting for her on the nearest counter. She wrapped it around herself and stepped out, grabbing the other towel for her hair. She dried off and dressed quickly, leaving her hair up in a towel to try. 

“I’m done,” she called out to Sam, who was pointedly looking at the ground. He stood up, eyes still averted. 

“I’m dressed, Sam,” she said with a laugh. Sam walked over to the sink to brush his teeth, and Bela followed suit. 

“Do you still want me to stay with you tonight?” Sam asked as they walked down the hallway, towards the bedrooms. 

“If it’s not too much trouble...I would appreciate that.”

“Okay,” Sam said nodding, gesturing towards his own bedroom door, “I just need to grab a few things from my room first.” 

Sam changed into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, then grabbed a throw blanket and his phone charger before rejoining Bela in the hallway. Sam sat down in the chair situated in the corner of the room, plugging his phone into the nearby outlet. 

Bela set down on the bed, watching Sam closely as he curled up in the desk chair, arranging himself neatly under the throw blanket he had brought in. Bela cleared her throat quietly, “Do you think you could... “ she trailed off. 

Sam raised his eyebrows expectantly, “No, I’ll do whatever I can, what do you need?” 

“I was wondering if you could read something to me - anything. I just don’t want to… when it’s too quiet, I remember things. I don’t want to remember,” she admitted, blushing. 

“Of course,” Sam nodded, “I’m going to grab a book from the library, do you want to come help me choose?” 

They ended up selecting the  Rubáiyát - translated into English - from the shelf in the library dedicated to poetry. Once Bela was settled back in bed, Sam opened the book and began to read poetry that, despite having been translated from its original Persian, was still beautiful. It wasn’t long before Bela found herself drifting off to sleep, lulled by the soft cadence of Sam’s voice.

-

Despite the fact that humanity was an exhausting experience for Cas, he found that some nights, sleep was impossible to achieve. On nights like these, he wandered into the kitchen and nursed a cup of tea until he felt ready to try and sleep again. This particular night, as he was methodically making his traditional cup of chamomile tea, he was startled by the sound of a crash in the hallway. 

He grabbed a kitchen knife and took a deep breath before peering into the hallway. He breathed out a laugh as he saw Bela rubbing at her head, clearly having run into one of the walls. 

“Bela,” he said gently, “Are you okay?” 

She smiled sheepishly, “They really need to install some lights in the hallway, almost knocked myself out there.” 

“There is a light switch, actually, it’s just hard to find. I can show you.” Cas explained, smiling at her, “What are you doing up? Difficulty sleeping?” 

Bela stepped into the light of the kitchen, “I… yeah.”

“Are you having nightmares? I don’t want to… disclose too much of his personal information, but Sam had a really hard time adjusting when he came back, too.” Cas explained, “I spent a lot of time with him, talking about his time in Hell. I think he found it… easier to talk to me instead of Dean or Mary.” 

Bela took a seat at the kitchen table, “Why you? Have you…”

“No, no,” Cas replied, sitting across from her, “I am… Well, I  _ used  _ to be an angel of the Lord. I was part of the garrison that pulled Sam out of Hell.” 

“Oh,” she said, looking down. 

“I…” Cas started, guiltily, “Would you like a cup of tea? I’m going to make myself another one.”

Bela nodded, so Cas turned around and refilled the kettle, “What kind do you want? We have green tea, peppermint, chamomile…”

“Peppermint sounds good,” she replied quietly. 

Cas worked in silence for a moment, before clearing his throat, “It was… an order from the authority in Heaven. They mandated that Sam be raised from Hell. If we could have...It took many angels to raise Sam. If I could have saved you myself, I would have.” 

“I appreciate it,” she said, taking a deep breath, “If it’s all the same to you, can we talk about something else?” 

“Of course,” Cas replied, holding Bela’s mug of tea out towards her. She accepted it gratefully. 

“So, you’re dating Dean?” she asked, raising her eyebrows with a smile. 

Cas grinned and launched into an explanation of their entire relationship history, only pausing to sip his tea and answer Bela’s occasional questions. Once their tea was finished, Cas and Bela placed their mugs in the sink and went their separate ways, significantly more prepared to sleep than they had been just an hour earlier. 

-

Bela had been back for just over a week when they finally came across something useful - a fallen angel. Just a few hours south in Oklahoma. A tree, that looked several hundred years old, had sprouted overnight in an empty field - something Cas assured them was a sign of a fallen angel - so they packed up and hit the road.

Dean and Cas took the front and Sam and Bela took the back. Sam had told her she didn’t have to come, she could stay at the bunker but she still didn’t want to be alone for a few hours, let alone the few days they would be in Oklahoma, so she was coming with. 

Dean made sure to keep the music volume lower than he ever would normally, but he could see how jumpy Bela still was and didn’t want to give her any reason to freak out while he was driving 90 down the highway. They spent the drive in relative silence - Dean driving, hand on Cas’ thigh while he read a book - about gardening of all things, Bela watching out the window while Sam read his own book and occasionally glanced at her. 

By the time they pulled into the small town in Oklahoma, it was mid-afternoon. “Alright, how do we figure out who the angel is?” Dean asked, looking over at Cas as he was their resident angel expert. 

“That is the hard part,” Cas sighed. “I’m not sure how things will work with Metatron’s spell, but the precedent when an angel falls of their own free will, they are seamlessly worked into the lives of those around them, and it will be as if they have always existed as a human.” 

“Well then, we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Sam said. “Why don’t you two go check out the tree, maybe there’ll be something there? And Bela and I can go just talk to a few people in town about it and see what they say.” 

“Yeah, sounds good,” Dean agreed and dropped the two of them off in front of a small cafe with a short wave. Sam sighed and looked down at Bela. 

“So, uh, we should have a cover. People always get antsy when you just ask ‘em questions,” he suggested. 

“Alright, how about we’re married and looking to get away from the city and are thinking about moving here?” Bela raised her eyebrows at Sam and smiled. “If you can pretend to be in love with me, that is.” 

“No problem,” Sam muttered, following her as she took off down the street. 

“The best place is going to be somewhere it’s not abnormal to talk to strangers, so perhaps the park for now, and a bar later?” Bela continued, Sam easily catching up to her with his longer legs. As soon as they were walking together, Bela slipped her arm through Sam’s. “Sound good?” 

“Sounds good,” Sam agreed, heart beating faster in his chest. Only a few blocks later they came across a park that was plenty populated and Bela easily led Sam along the path until they ‘accidentally’ bumped into an older couple. 

“So sorry!” Bela apologized, “I just wasn’t looking where I was going, this place is just so beautiful!” 

“Not to worry, dear,” the woman said with a kind smile. “I haven’t seen you around, are you new in town?” 

“Kind of,” Bela returned her grin. “You see, my husband and I just got married a few months ago and we’re looking to get out of the city.” Bela patted Sam’s chest, leaning her head on his shoulder. “And everything we read about this place was just the loveliest.” 

“That’s very sweet of you to say,” the woman beamed with pride. “How did you hear about our little slice of paradise?” 

“Actually,” Sam jumped in then, taking Bela’s hand off his chest only to lace their fingers together. “I saw an article about a tree that just grew overnight? And thought if a place like this has those kinds of miracles, we better look into it!” Sam and Bela laughed along with the other couple. 

“It was just the darndest thing, wasn’t it, darling?” the woman said. “John just came running into church that morning, shouting about that tree.” 

“Was there anything else going on in town right before or after?” Bela asked politely. “It just seems as if...well that it was the work of God.”

“You know, we did have someone new come into town that afternoon, and we rarely get visitors before summer really begins,” the man finally spoke. 

“Isn’t that just a coincidence?” Sam forced a laugh. “Well, we won’t take up any more of your time, have a good day!” He and Bela continued on the path, still walking close together with their hands clasped between them. “Sounds like a fallen angel to me.”

“Now we just have to figure out who it is,” Bela said. “Can’t be too hard, people are always willing to talk. Come here, I have an idea.” She drug Sam over to where the playground was and sat down on the bench with a loud sigh, the other woman turning to look at her.    
  


“Are you all right?” she asked, frowning with concern. 

“Oh, yes, darling, I’m perfectly fine, just worn out,” Bela fanned herself. “One of those things they don’t tell you about pregnancy, I suppose.” Sam froze at that, hand clenching slightly on Bela’s shoulder where it had migrated to when she sat down. 

  
“You’re pregnant? How far along?” the woman asked excitedly. 

“Oh, just barely thirteen weeks, so I’m barely showing, but I’m still exhausted all the time,” Bela complained, pouting just a little. Sam could barely pay attention to the conversation, mind focusing on nothing other than  _ Bela  _ being pregnant with  _ his  _ child. 

  
“Oh, I absolutely know what you mean,” the woman rolled her eyes. “I’ve got three and all of them I could barely walk from the first trimester.” Bela kept talking to the woman for a few more minutes, even bringing Sam in for a few sentences before asking about other women their age. 

“It’s just...everyone I’ve talked to so far has moved on from this part of their life,” Bela said with an exasperated sigh. 

“Well, there is Anna,” the woman said thoughtfully. “She’s not pregnant or even married but she is new to town, and she’s just about your age.” 

“Oh that sounds wonderful! Do you know where I could find her?” 

“She always has dinner at the diner just off Main and Third,” the woman offered and Bela thanked her profusely. 

“I hope we run into each other again soon,” Bela let Sam help her off the bench and after bidding a proper goodbye, they were taking off once more. “There, now we know who the angel is and where she’ll be.”

“You’re really good at this,” Sam said, pretending that his mind was still reeling from their ruse and all the visuals it created. 

“I had to be Sam, with my chosen profession,” Bela said with a shrug. “It’s far easier to gain someone’s trust with a little deception than to make them fear you. It’s also a better business plan, makes for return customers.” 

“Right, well, I’ll call Dean and let him know what we found,” Sam said, pulling his phone from his jacket pocket. They continued to walk along the street as Sam and Dean spoke over the phone, Bela looking around warily at all the people. 

“Did they find anything at the tree?” Bela asked once Sam had hung up. 

“Yeah, Cas can feel that the tree was made with an angel’s grace, so we’re definitely in the right place. Even said that he knew an angel named Anna, so hopefully we might even get lucky,” Sam huffed out a laugh. “They’re on their way now, and they’ll meet us at the diner.” 

-

Sam and Bela were only in the diner for about ten minutes before Cas and Dean arrived. Dean forced Sam to switch sides so that he could sit with Cas, meaning that Sam had to sit next to Bela, their arms pressing against each other. 

“So, who should we be looking for?” Sam asked, glancing over at Cas. 

“I am not sure,” Cas admitted. “Vessels for fallen angels...they can be tricky. There’s a chance her appearance has changed since I saw her last.” 

“You could tell Gabriel was an angel though,” Dean said. “Can you do the same for her?”

“Gabriel is an archangel, Anna no longer has her grace,” Cas shook his head. “I will only be able to recognize her if she is in the same vessel she uses in Heaven.” Soon, a waitress came over and took their orders - Cas letting Dean order for him as he was still trying different foods to see what he liked. 

It took a while - over an hour, food finished and plates cleared - until Anna finally arrived, Cas sitting up straighter. “That’s her.” Something they didn’t expect, however, was Anna walking straight up to their table, dragging a chair over, and sitting with them. “Anna?”   
  


“Hello Castiel,” Anna smiled warmly at him. “It has been a while since we have seen each other. How are you doing?” 

“I am doing alright, Anna,” Cas said nervously, and Dean grabbed his thigh under the table. “Anna, this is Dean, Sam, and Bela. Anna was the leader of my garrison once.” 

“Nice to meet you all,” Anna smiled. “So, you got my message then?” 

“Message?” Dean asked, raising his eyebrow. “What message?” 

“The tree, of course,” Anna said. “When all the angels fell from Heaven, I knew that I needed to find friends. And I knew that Castiel was working closely with the Winchesters, and you would see that sort of thing. I made sure it got in the papers.” 

“So you still remember everything?” Cas asked, head tilted in confusion. “But, when angels fall they are given a false memory.” 

“In normal circumstances, yes. But we didn’t fall through normal circumstances. In fact, most angels still have their grace and remember who they are,” Anna explained. “The spell that cast us from Heaven didn’t truly make us fall. It shoved us all out its doors, but we were still angels when we crashed to Earth.”

“So all the angels are still angels, they’re just grounded?” Sam asked, nose scrunched and eyebrows furrowed. 

“Yes,” Anna confirmed. “And there are some like me. I gave up my grace and became human. After the debacle of the apocalypse, I want nothing to do with Heaven and the angels.” 

“So we’ve got thousands of angels roaming the planet with no clue what to do and no way to get back into Heaven?” Dean groaned and rubbed his head. “Alright, so same plan, we just have to find a way to get the doors back open, right?” 

“Yes, and I might know someone who can help,” Anna said. “Her name is Anael, but she goes by Sister Jo here on Earth. If someone knows all the different ways to get in and out of Heaven, it’s her, she’s been doing it for centuries.” 

-

After finding Anna, they returned to the bunker the next day and as important as it was to find this Sister Jo, they all agreed to take the rest of the day off, so when they got back to the bunker, Dean told Sam that he and Cas were gonna head out for a while and they would be back that night. 

“Where are we going?” Cas asked, looking around as they drove along the highway. 

“Well, you’re human now and we haven’t really had much time to just...do human stuff. We’ve been stuck researching how to find Gabriel, and then how to open the doors, and now it’ll be finding Anael,” Dean sighed. “I just want you to see the good sides of being human too.” 

“That is very thoughtful of you, Dean,” Cas said with a smile. “But you still didn’t answer my question.” 

“You’ll see when we get there,” Dean grumbled, though didn’t protest when Cas reached over and took his hand. It didn’t take long until Dean was pulling into a field and parking among hundreds of others. 

“What is this?” Cas asked, tilting his head in the way that Dean loved.

“Called a farmer’s market. Bunch of locals that grow or make their own stuff come here and set up tents, selling it. Figured it’d be something you’d like,” he explained as they got out of the car. “Got some cash on me too, so we can get some stuff, if you’d like.”

“Thank you for bringing me here, Dean, this does sound very lovely.” They began walking down the rows of cars toward the tents. Dean watched Cas, watched as he sniffed the air, watched as the sunlight made his hair seem brighter and his skin practically glow. He wasn’t sure how he got so lucky to land an angel, a guy like Cas, but he wasn’t going to question it. 

As soon as they actually began making their way through the farmer’s market, Cas stopped at almost every single table to look at the offerings, though rarely expressed interest in buying anything. At least, until they came across one stand that was selling their local honey. Dean stood a few feet behind him as he spoke to the woman in charge, asking about the different flavors and types of bees. After a few minutes, Dean stepped up, placing one hand on Cas’ hip. 

“Did you wanna get any of these?” he asked, looking at the selection of jars. 

“Are you sure?” Cas asked earnestly, turning his head to meet Dean’s eyes. 

“Told you I brought cash,” Dean chuckled. “Come on, pick out a few you wanna try.” With Dean’s encouragement, Cas chose three jars - one lavender, one clover, and one with raw honeycomb inside. Dean paid and thanked the woman before taking the brown paper bag with the jars. They continued down, Cas still looking at everything they passed. Dean bought him a few more things, some fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as some handmade bread and jarred preserves. 

“Did you have anything else planned?” Cas asked once they were back at the car. 

“Kinda, yeah,” Dean said, setting the various bags in the backseat. “Figured we could grab some dinner and then have a picnic?” 

“A picnic sounds nice,” Cas agreed. “What are we going to get for dinner?” 

“Whatever you want,” Dean said, sliding into the car. “I’ll just drive down the main road and you tell me if you see somewhere you wanna stop.” Cas was happy to oblige, and after a few blocks, he pointed out a small, hole-in-the-wall type cafe. Dean found a place to park and they walked the short distance back to the cafe, sandwiched between a real estate agency and a laundromat. 

Cas entered first, immediately greeting the young girl standing at the counter. Dean didn’t say anything as he looked over the menu, standing next to Cas without being close enough to touch. “You know what you want?” he eventually asked quietly. “Or you want me to pick something?” 

“I believe I want to try the turkey and bacon club sandwich,” Cas said with a decisive nod. “Yes, that is what I want.” Dean laughed a little as he stepped up to the counter and ordered Cas’ sandwich as well as his own - a reuben - and paid with cash. Since they were only people in the cafe, they were given their order only a few minutes later and were out the door and on their way to find a perfect spot to eat. Eventually, they came across a little park right next to a parking lot and Dean decided it was good enough, leading Cas to a patch of grass in the middle. 

“We sit on the ground? Is that customary for a picnic?” Cas asked thoughtfully as they both sat, Dean grimacing as the grass was wet, likely from the rain they had that morning. 

“Yeah, usually there’s a blanket involved but I didn’t think that far ahead,” Dean muttered, taking Cas’ sandwich out of the bag and handing it over. 

“This is perfect, Dean. I am spending time with you and that is what matters,” Cas smiled at Dean, and Dean forgot about the water seeping into his jeans, the sounds of traffic less than a quarter mile away...he forgot about everything but how nothing felt better than making Cas smile like that. 

God he was a fucking sap. 

They ate their sandwiches, Cas asking about different human things as they came to mind, Dean happily answering each one. Once they had finished and thrown their trash away, Cas asked something Dean wasn’t expecting at all. 

“Why don’t you show me physical affection in public?” 

“What?” Dean choked a little, stopping to catch his breath. 

“When we are in private, in the bunker or your car, you are very physically affectionate. But, whenever we are in public, you barely touch me at all,” Cas turned to look at Dean. “Are you ashamed of me?”    
  


“No, no Cas, not at all,” Dean shook his head and glanced around. “It’s just...most people don’t really think that two men together are…” he trailed off, not sure how to explain homophobia to an age-old angel. 

“They believe that man should lie with woman and women only?” Cas filled in with a sigh. “You should know that my Father never intended for that interpretation. Angels and all of the Heavenly host are utterly indifferent to sexual orientation. Cupids have been matching people of all genders since the dawn of time.”

“Oh, well, that’s good to know I guess, but a lot of people down here still feel that way. And are willing to fight over it...kill over it, even,” Dean said quietly. “And I would rather just not draw attention to ourselves like that. Not here, anyway.” 

“I...I am sorry that you have been oppressed and discriminated against because of your sexuality, Dean, that was never something my Father intended,” Cas reached out to take Dean’s hand but stopped himself, hand frozen in mid-air. 

“Not your fault, Cas,” Dean smiled tightly, staring down at Cas’ hand. “But, I don’t know, maybe I feel a bit braver with you.” He took a deep breath and grabbed Cas’ hand with his own, lacing their fingers together as they walked down the street and back toward the car. Cas’ grin widened and he squeezed Dean’s hand. 

“You make me brave too, Dean,” he whispered. “I never would have had the courage to rebel against the Host if it wasn't for you.” Dean felt his cheeks heat up and he bit back a smile. 

“I’m sure you would have figured it out eventually,” he muttered, grateful that they reached the car. “Come on, we better get back to the bunker.” 

“Did we have time for a short stop?” Cas asked after they were both seated and on the way out of town. 

“Probably, where did you wanna stop?” Dean furrowed his brows, not quite sure where else Cas would need to go. 

“Well, nowhere specific, just somewhere that no one would be able to see us,” Cas mused. “Or did you change your mind about being fucked over the hood of your car?” 

-

Dean wasted no time, speeding out of town to find an old dirt road off the highway. He drove down far enough that if anyone happened to pass by on the highway, they wouldn’t be able to tell what was going on. He slammed on the brakes and turned the key to shut the engine off and then climbed into Cas’ lap, folding himself awkwardly in order to kiss his angel. 

“Dean,” Cas muttered against his lips. “I want you to get out of this car. Get out and then sit on the hood.” Dean nodded, swallowing heavily as he followed his orders, sliding out of Cas’ lap to get out of the car. He sat down on the hood so he couldn’t see what Cas was doing while he waited - most likely retrieving the lube he kept in the glovebox. Dean worked to keep his breathing steady until he heard the car door slam and Cas’ footsteps. 

  
Suddenly, Cas was standing right in front of him, hoodie and flannel left behind in the car, leaving him in just a t-shirt. “Cas…” Dean whispered, gasping as Cas pulled their mouths together in a bruising kiss. Dean let himself be moved, eagerly going where Cas wanted him. 

“Get up and bend over,” Cas instructed once he finally wrenched himself away from Dean. Dean, too dazed to truly understand what Cas had said, just sat back and panted as he watched Cas. Cas raised one eyebrow, looking down at Dean with something close to disappointment. “I said, get up and bend over,” he punctuated his words with a sharp pinch to Dean’s inner thigh.

Dean yelped and rushed into the position, hands flat on the car and ass in the air. He gasped as Cas gripped the belt loops of his jeans and yanked them down, button catching on his already hard dick. “Shit!” he moaned and ground into the hood of the Impala. 

“Do not,” Cas growled, taking hold of Dean’s hips to pull him back until he could no longer get any kind of friction. “You are mine, Dean Winchester.” 

“I am, I’m yours, Cas, please,” Dean almost sobbed into his arms. He had been dreaming about this for so long, dreaming of Cas just  _ taking  _ him, that he would do just about anything, say anything, for him. Cas managed to get his jeans down to his ankles, leaving him open and exposed in the cooling evening air. 

“Spread yourself open for me,” Cas left no room for debate. Dean dropped his head to the hood, turning it to the side so his face was pressed to the metal as he brought his hands back to spread his cheeks open, his hole on display. As soon as he did so, Cas drizzled lube down his crack, causing Dean to shiver from the chill. 

Cas was just slightly too rough as he fingered Dean open, going faster than he ever had before and not waiting quite as long as Dean needed to be properly prepared. When Cas pushed his cock in, Dean let out a sob, pressing back against him as much as he could. 

“Hands on the car,” Cas said and Dean rushed to comply, placing them on either side of his head to give himself some leverage. Dean held himself still as Cas bottomed out, the denim of Cas’ jeans scratching at the sensitive skin of his ass. Cas was motionless for a quiet moment, letting Dean adjust to his girth as he wasn’t stretched the way he should have been. 

“Cas…” Dean whimpered, eyes fluttering closed. Cas tightened his grip on Dean’s hips and then, without warning, began pounding into him, shoving him into the hood of the Impala. Dean gasped and whined, using his hands to mostly keep himself in place for Cas, but his knees were failing him, shaking under him and unable to hold his weight up any longer. His feet slid out from under him, leaving just Cas and the car holding him up as he was fucked roughly. 

Dean panted, his breath fogging up the shiny black metal under his head. He tried to spread his legs but his jeans around his ankles halted him, and a moment later he completely forgot everything but how Cas was pressing into him, cock repeatedly stabbing his prostate. “I’m gonna….” he tried to warn Cas, but he couldn’t make his mouth form any more words. 

“Do it, Dean, come all over your precious car and make a mess for me,” Cas sounded entirely too put together but Dean was too busy spilling over the hood of his car to really care at the moment, crying out for Cas. 

Cas didn’t cease his movements as he fucked Dean through his orgasm, keeping his pace even as Dean began twitching and whining from overstimulation. It only took a few moments longer before he was coming, shoving in balls deep to fill Dean just the way he liked. 

Cas slowly pulled out of Dean, keeping hold of his hips so he wouldn’t fall over, rubbing his lower back. “Dean,” he whispered. “You made a mess. You need to clean it up.” Dean looked up at him with hazy eyes, his words taking a moment to register, but once they did - Dean couldn’t think of anything else. He let Cas help him to his knees in front of the Impala, shaking slightly as he leaned forward where his jizz was smeared over the hood. He let his tongue fall from his mouth and he began licking it up, whining in the back of his throat. He felt Cas’ fingers tangle in his hair to keep him in his place and he held Dean steady until the metal was shiny with his spit. “Good boy, Dean.” 

“Cas,” the word came out broken and garbled and Cas helped Dean stand, quickly pulling his underwear and jeans back up before carefully setting him in the passenger seat of the car. 

“Dean? How are you feeling?” Cas asked, rubbing over his thigh slowly. 

“Good,” Dean muttered, blinking sluggishly. “Never been fucked so hard before, baby.” Cas laughed a little and pressed a kiss to his forehead. 

“You rest, I’ll drive us the rest of the way to the bunker and then we can take a shower and clean up,” Cas said, squeezing Dean’s knee before standing to hurry around to the driver’s side of the Impala. 

“Better not get a fucking scratch on her,” Dean said, speech slurring just a little, eyes already closing. 

“I know, Dean,” Cas said with a small smile. “I know.” 

-

It took all four of them just over a week to track Sister Jo down. She was operating as a traveling faith healer and the most recent reports put her just outside of Dallas, so they loaded up the Impala and were speeding south within the hour. 

It took most of the day to drive to Whitesboro, so when they arrived, they grabbed a quick dinner at a small diner in town and then booked two motel rooms. They made a plan for the next day, agreeing to just go to one of Sister Jo’s sessions before approaching her. 

They split up for the night, Cas and Dean going to their room and Sam and Bela heading to theirs - a few rooms down from his brothers, for which Sam was eternally grateful for. He unlocked the door to their room and stepped inside, Bela following. “Did you want to shower or anything?” Sam asked as he let the door fall shut. 

“No, I did this morning,” Bela shook her head. “I do need to wash my face, however.” 

“Go right ahead,” Sam offered, dropping his bag on one of the beds. Bela smiled gratefully and set her own bag down, taking out her toiletries bag before heading into the bathroom. Sam got the book they were currently reading from his bag and set it on the end table between the beds. Bela took her time in the bathroom and when she finally exited she had changed into her pajamas and her face was clean and glowing. Sam waited for her to get settled in her bed before he cleaned up in the bathroom, rushing a bit through his routine to rejoin Bela. 

“You brought the book with you?” Bela asked quietly as soon as Sam was back in the room. 

“Yeah, I did. Figured you might want to keep reading even when we’re not in the bunker,” Sam said, sitting on his own bed. He flipped open the book after Bela nodded, and began reading where they had left off the night before. 

Sam had made it though almost an entire chapter when he realized Bela had fallen asleep. He quietly set the book back down and turned the lamp off. He hesitated for a moment before pressing the softest kiss he could manage to Bela’s head before getting in his own bed, falling asleep with the taste of her skin lingering on his lips. 

-

The next afternoon, the four were in the back of Sister Jo’s tent that was set up along a dirt road out of town. The session didn’t start for another fifteen minutes but every seat was already taken and people were even standing along the perimeter. 

“This seems...unorthodox for an angel,” Dean muttered, glancing at the donation box people were continually dropping money in. 

“This was most definitely not sanctioned by Heaven,” Cas replied. “I am not sure how she has evaded capture or even notice.”

“Well, she’s probably been doing it a long time. Figured out all the loopholes,” Dean shrugged. “Anna said she’s been slipping in and outta Heaven for centuries.”

“Guys,” Sam nudged Dean in the ribs with his elbow as a woman walked up to stand next to the donation box. Dean raised his eyebrows. If he wasn’t with Cas, he would have tried to sleep with that angel in a heartbeat. 

The woman introduced herself as Sister Jo and gave a slightly long winded speech about wanting to help and heal others through her faith before asking for people to come to her if they had an ailment they needed healed. The four watched as almost everyone in the tent formed a line. 

Sister Jo healed each person that came up to her, hands glowing in the familiar blue of angelic magic, accepting a small handful of money from each person that came up to her. After waiting for everyone else to leave, Dean and Cas approached her, Sam and Bela standing back a bit. 

“Anael,” Cas said, and she turned in surprise. She cocked her head when she saw them, narrowing her eyes a little. 

“Castiel? You’re no longer an angel,” she raised a perfect eyebrow. “And you’re...slumming it with some humans?”

“And you’re healing humans for money,” Cas matched her tone. 

“Well, they need it. And I need to make a living,” Anael shrugged. “But I doubt that’s why you found me. So what can I do for you?”

“We heard you’re pretty good at finding Heaven’s back doors,” Dean said. “Figured you might also know how to unlock ‘em.”

“You want to reopen the gates of Heaven?” She asked, looking between the two of them but before they could answer, she continued. “Why should I help you?”

Dean looked at Cas with a frown. “Because it’s the right thing to do? Souls are stuck in limbo because the gates are closed.”

“Mmm, not good enough,” Anael said with a smile. “Try again.”

“Is there something you want?” Bela asked from behind, walking forward to stand just in front of Cas and Dean. Anael straightened her stance, smirking a little at Bela. 

“Perhaps. Is there a chance you could get me what I want?” She asked, tilting her head forward minutely. 

“It’s what I’m good at darling,” Bela crossed her arms. “So, you tell us what it is you want, we find it, and you tell us how to open the gates to Heaven.”

“That sounds...doable.”

“So what is it? What do you want?” Dean asked, getting impatient. Anael rolled her eyes. 

“I’m sure you’ve heard of Joan of Arc? Well, her femur is floating around somewhere and, being the bone of a saint and all, it’s extremely lucky. I want it,” Anael looked back at Bela. “Up to the challenge?”

“Won’t be much of one. How do we contact you once we possess the item? Or will you just find us?” Bela asked sarcastically. 

“Here,” Anael pulled out a card from her inner jacket pocket. “It’s my personal number. All you have to do is call.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Bela smirked as she took the card. “Come on boys, we have a thigh bone to locate.” She turned and practically strutted from the tent, the three men scrambling to follow her. 

-

Sam had grown accustomed to his routine with Bela in the weeks that she had been staying with them in the bunker. Their daytime activities varied, but if possible, they ate dinner together with Cas and Dean each night, and when they were ready to retreat to bed, Sam and Bela went through their nighttime routines separately, and then met up in Bela’s room so that Sam could read her to sleep. After the first few nights of Sam sleeping uncomfortably in a chair, he and Bela agreed that it would be okay for him to sleep in his own room, but that Bela could wake him anytime if she had a nightmare. 

Sam had just expected that this routine would continue indefinitely, so one night, teeth brushed and book in hand, he was surprised to find that Bela’s door was locked. He furrowed his brows in confusion and knocked, calling out her name. After a few seconds, she flung open the door. 

“What,” she asked curtly, “What do you need, Sam?” 

Caught off-guard, he hesitated for a second, “Uh… I… was coming to read? I thought you’d want to finish Paradise Lost…” 

“I don’t,” she said “I don’t need you to tuck me into bed anymore. I’m not a child.” 

She made to close the door, but Sam spoke again, “Bela, I just -” 

Bela cut him off, “Goodnight, Sam.”

Sam stared at the door between them, flinching as he heard the lock click into place. He waited at the door for a few moments, completely unsure about what had happened. Not wanting Cas or Dean to see him and ask questions, Sam retreated to his own bedroom for a fitful sleep. 

By the time that morning came, Bela was still short with Sam. She was in one of the storage rooms, going through the collection of artifacts that the Men of Letters had, when Sam found her. 

“I brought you some tea,” Sam said tentatively, “I thought you might want something because I know you didn’t have breakfast.”

Bela spoke without turning to look at him, “If I wanted breakfast, I would’ve gotten something. I’m an adult, Sam.” 

“I… I know. I just thought…” he trailed off, “I’ll let you get back to work, then.”

When Bela finally turned around, Sam was gone, the still-steaming mug of tea on the counter the only indication he had been there to begin with. Bela swallowed the lump in her throat, forcing herself not to think about it. She had gone her entire life without ever needing anyone else, and she sure as hell didn’t need anyone now. If a few tears fell as she catalogued the artifact collection, nobody had to know. 

-

Sam walked into the kitchen, sighing as he took in the sight of Cas and Dean playfully shoving each other as they ate their breakfast. He sat down across from them, sighing again. 

“Who pissed in your Cheerios, Sammy?” Dean asked around a mouthful of pancakes. 

“There’s something wrong with Bela,” he replied, “She’s upset about something but I don’t know what.”

“It’s simple,” Cas said bluntly, “She was in Hell for over one hundred years.” 

Dean tried to stifle his laugh with another bite of his pancakes. “Yeah, thanks Cas, I know that,” Sam replied sarcastically, “I mean aside from that. She wants nothing to do with me anymore.” 

“You mean, like you did after you got out of there?” Dean asked, raising his eyebrows at Sam. 

“Maybe I should try and talk to her,” Cas answered so that Sam didn’t have to, “You did find it easier to speak with me than with others.” 

Sam nodded, “If you want to try, go ahead. She seems to be in a pretty bad mood, though.” 

Cas stood up and patted Dean on the shoulder before leaving the room. Bela was right where Sam had left her, still going through box after box in the storage room, taking notes in a small leather notebook when she found something of significance. 

Cas cleared his throat, and Bela turned to look at him, “I thought you might want some company,” he said simply. 

Bela hesitated for a second and then nodded, “I suppose that would be alright.”

They went through boxes in silence for a while before Cas cleared his throat again, “I don’t mean to overstep, but I just wanted to let you know that I’m here if you would like to discuss anything. After … when Sam came back from Hell, he didn’t know how to talk to Dean or Mary, but he found it easier to discuss his emotions and memories with me. Partially because I have seen the horrors he experienced, and, I assume, partially because I didn’t have pre-existing expectations of him. I know… what you had to do to survive there, and I will not judge you. None of us will, but especially not me. I have done unimaginable things for survival in the millenia of my life.”

Bela remained silent for a while, “I don’t even know how to start talking about what happened. I was there for so long.” 

-

After searching for Joan of Arc’s femur for over a week with nothing to show, Sam was grateful to get the call from Mary asking for an ingredient they had stored in the bunker. After verifying that they did, in fact, have what she needed, Sam agreed to drive it up to Sioux Falls himself. 

“You sure?” Dean asked, after Sam told him what he planned. “You don’t want me to come with?” 

Sam rolled his eyes. “Dean, I’m 24. I can make the drive by myself, and I’m just going to see Mom, I'm not even going on a hunt.” Dean didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t say anything else. “I’ll probably only stay a night or two, so I’ll be back before Friday.” 

“Fine, just be careful, alright?” Sam nodded and headed down the hall to his room to grab his already packed duffle. He stopped in front of Bela’s room, could hear her humming softly to herself, but decided against saying goodbye. She had made it abundantly clear that she did not want to talk to him. He grabbed the ingredient Mary needed - powdered wraith spike - off the table and headed to the garage. He grabbed the keys to his favorite car and was on the road to Sioux Falls. 

Sam pulled into the driveway of Mary’s house just under six hours later, the sun just starting to set. He opened the door and called out, Mary replying from the open backdoor. 

“Hey baby,” Mary said as Sam walked out onto the deck. She stood and kissed his cheek, “How have you been?” 

“Good,” Sam nodded. “Still searching for that femur.” 

  
“Well, I’m sure you’ll find it eventually,” Mary patted his cheek tenderly. “I know my boys and I know that you two will not stop until you’ve won. Now, come on, I left some dinner in the oven for you.” Sam was happy to follow her back inside to the kitchen, pulling out the plate she saved for him. 

“Thanks, Mom,” Sam managed to get out through his mouthful of food, not even pretending to be ashamed at the disappointed look Mary shot at him. Sam ate quickly, rinsing his plate off once he was finished. “Forgot to ask how you’re doing.”

“I’m good,” Mary answered with a small smile. “Orders are going up as we get closer to fall, so that’s keeping me busy. I’ve gone on a few local hunts with Jody and Donna.” 

“How are Bobby and Karen?” Sam asked, grabbing two beers and going to sit with Mary in the living room. 

“Same as always, Karen’s patching up every hunter that comes through with so much as a scratch, and Bobby is bitching about how many hunters come traipsing through his house and messing with his stuff,” Mary laughed, taking a sip of her beer. “Hunter is keeping them on their toes though, and he makes Bobby take him on walks at least once a day.” 

“Sounds about right,” Sam grinned and glanced around the room. Almost nothing had changed in the few months since he and Dean had moved out, though when he saw the laundry basket sitting on the coffee table, he had to pause. “Is that...a pair of men’s boxers?” 

“Oh,” Mary looked over. “They are. Thomas must have left them.” 

“Thomas? Who’s Thomas?” Sam asked. 

“Sam, you are old enough that I don’t think I really need to explain that to you,” Mary replied, sitting back against the couch. 

“Are you dating him?”

“No no, I have long decided that dating is not for me. I am happy being single,” Mary said, shaking her head. 

“So you’re...you’re just…” Sam tried to wrap his mind around what Mary was saying. “Oh my god, Mom!” 

“What? Am I not allowed to have a life outside of you and Dean?” Mary raised an eyebrow, giving him her patented Mom look. 

“Of course you are, I just didn’t realize this was how you were doing it,” Sam rubbed the back of his neck, trying to forget everything he just learned. “So...you’re not dating at all?” 

“No, baby, I’m not. Like I said, I figured it out a long time ago. I think you were about 12?” Mary said thoughtfully. 

“So you tried dating after Dad died?” 

“I did,” Mary nodded. “It took a few years before I was ready, I think you were both in school by the time I started. And no one ever really clicked for me. The longest I ever saw someone was six months.” 

“Six months? And you never introduced us to him?” Sam asked quietly. He had no idea that his mom had ever gone out with anybody. 

“I never wanted to. It’s why I broke up with him,” Mary chuckled. “I loved your dad, he was a good father but...I’m beginning to think I only ever really got married because it’s what was expected of me. I was supposed to grow up and fall in love and have a family and so I did.” 

“Did you love Dad?” John had died when Sam was only six months old, leaving him with no memories of the man whatsoever. The only things he knew about his father were what others told him and they were pretty mixed reviews. 

“I thought I did,” Mary sighed, playing with the label on her beer. “And maybe I did at one point, but looking back on our relationship, I idealized what we had. I thought it was perfect because other people told me it was. And now, over twenty years later...I’m glad we got married. Because it means I got you and Dean and I wouldn’t trade you two for the world. But you two are the only good things that came from my marriage. That and the life insurance.” 

“How...how did you know you were ready to date again?” Sam asked, voice shaking a little. 

“Oh, Sammy,” Mary moved closer and pulled him into a hug. “You’re interested in someone new, then?” 

“Uh, yeah, I am,” Sam sniffled and wiped his nose with his sleeve. “But...Jess died less than two years ago, and I loved her, Mom, I really did. I was...I was going to propose.” 

“There are no set rules to this, Sam, no specific time period you have to follow. I think that if you have feelings for this person, then you’re ready to move on from Jess. And if she loved you as much as you loved her, then she would want you to be happy,” Mary rubbed his back as she comforted him. 

“But what if I’m really not? What if I pursue a relationship and it goes to shit because I’m not actually ready?” Sam could feel the heat from the tears as they rolled down his cheeks but he couldn’t be bothered to clear them away. 

“If this person that you’re interested in is worthy of you, then they’ll understand and they’ll be willing to wait and be there for you,” Mary leaned in and kissed his temple. “I think you’re ready, baby. I think that just because you’re apprehensive about getting involved with someone new doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. You deserve to be happy.” 

“Thanks, Mom,” Sam whispered, letting himself be coddled. 

“Anytime,” Mary promised, pressing another kiss to his forehead. “I’m here for you, always.” 

-

Sam, as promised, returned only two days after leaving the bunker. Dean was already in the garage, working under the Impala’s hood, when Sam pulled in. 

“Hey, what are you doing up here?” Sam asked after climbing out of the car. 

“Why the fuck didn’t you say anything to Bela before you left?” Dean asked, glaring at Sam. “She’s been a raging bitch since I told her where you were.” 

“I didn’t think she’d want to talk to me,” Sam said with a shrug, grabbing his bag from the backseat. “I’ll go talk to her now, don’t worry.” 

“You fucking better. I haven’t been able to go anywhere except here and my bedroom for two days!” Dean shooed him out of the garage then. Sam rolled his eyes as he walked deeper into the bunker. He made it to his room to drop his bag off before heading to the kitchen, not having eaten since he left Mary’s that morning. 

He only made it to the library before Bela was standing in front of him, fuming. 

“Where the fuck have you been?” she asked, teeth clenched and seething. 

“My mom needed an ingredient we needed so I drove it up to her since I didn’t really have anything else to do,” Sam said and tried to move past Bela but she just stepped into his path.    
  
“And you didn’t think to mention it to me?” Bela glared up at him, fists clenched at her sides. “I had to find out hours after the fact from Dean!” 

“I didn’t really think you’d care, to be honest,” Sam said, feeling his face grow hot as his temper rose. How dare Bela care about what he was doing now when she had been ignoring for the last week? 

“You’re so fucking dense,” Bela huffed. “You just disappeared on me, Sam, I had no way of knowing where you were or how long you’d be gone!” 

“Dean told you exactly where I was going and when I thought I would be back. And if you were really that concerned, you could have called me yourself,” Sam argued, taking a half-step closer to Bela. 

“You didn’t deserve the effort,” Bela sneered, standing her ground. “Besides, it’s what you’re good at, isn’t it? Just up and disappearing without a word?” 

“That’s not fair, Bela, and you fucking know it. The angels rescued me, I had no say or control in that,” Sam was fuming and if it had been anyone else saying those things to him, he likely would have already thrown a punch. “Besides, if anyone’s to blame, it’s you! You’re the one that pushed me away! I was trying to help and doing anything I could and you just froze me out!” 

“Did you ever stop to ask yourself what would help me? Or were you just focused on what made you feel better?” Bela spoke quieter now, looking up at Sam with watery eyes. “Fucking Winchesters.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Sam asked, eyes narrowing. He knew she was right, he knew he never even thought to ask what she needed, but he was too angry right now to process her words. 

“It doesn’t have to mean anything, Samuel. Perhaps I’m just angry. I am allowed to be angry after what I’ve been through. I am allowed to be angry and upset and hateful and hurt and confused! I am allowed to feel all these things and express them even if you don’t like them!” Bela was back to shouting now, stepping forward so that she and Sam were chest to chest, though there was almost a foot difference between them. 

“I never said you couldn’t express your feelings-”

“You didn’t have to say it! You showed it! You got upset when I was anything but passive and docile!” Bela was breathing heavily, her chest heaving as she and Sam stared at each other. “I…” she trailed off, but before Sam could respond, she had grabbed hold of his shoulders and yanked him down into a bruising kiss. 

Sam was surprised, but reciprocated after only a minute pause, wrapping his arms around Bela’s waist to keep her pressed right against his chest. Bela moaned against his lips, nails digging sharply into Sam’s skin, until she abruptly broke away, staring at Sam with wide eyes. 

“Bela-” she took off down the hall, Sam standing frozen in his spot, eyes trained on the spot Bela disappeared. 

-

“One of my contacts got back to me,” Bela said to Sam, Dean and Cas, as she entered the kitchen one morning, “The femur we’ve been looking for is locked up in some Christian cult museum -” she cut herself with a gasp, turning to look at Cas, “Sorry.” 

Cas smiled, “It’s okay. I know for a fact that my Father was… unhappy with the way that some of his followers turned out, to say the least.” 

“Where’s the museum?” Dean asked. 

“It’s in Washington DC. If we leave soon, we can make it there by tomorrow night. It’s better to break in at night anyway,” Bela replied, busying herself getting a cup of coffee. 

“We’ll get packed up and head out in half an hour,” Dean replied, standing up. Cas followed him back to their bedroom, leaving Sam and Bela to either converse or suffer through awkward silence. When Sam couldn’t handle the silence anymore, he left the room, muttering something about needing to make sure that he had enough clean socks for the trip. Bela’s eyes followed him guiltily, but she made no move to call out to him. 

Once she was back in her room, Bela grabbed the bag that she always kept packed in her closet - a habit she had developed as a teenager when she had constant thoughts of running away from home - and picked up the book she had been reading from her nightstand, intending to read it on the drive to DC. By the time she reemerged, everyone else was waiting for her by the front door. 

“Do we have a plan for when we get there?” she said to nobody in particular.

“Kinda thought your contact might help us out on that one,” Dean said as he headed out the door. 

“He’s… more of the hands-off type,” Bela replied, chewing on her bottom lip, “I doubt he’s even in town.” 

Sam stayed quiet, climbing into the back of the door, so Cas took pity on her, “We’ll figure something out. Most likely Dean will go in ‘guns blazing’ and we’ll deal with whatever consequences arise.” 

“To be fair,” Dean said, plopping down in the driver’s seat, “It usually works.” 

-

It was already pretty late when they arrived in Fort Wayne, Indiana, so when Dean asked the motel clerk for two double rooms, Bela didn’t even think to argue or ask for her own room. She sighed as she opened the door, dropping her bag on one of the beds. 

“Look,” Sam said, “We don’t have to be friends if you don’t want to, but we do need to be civil around each other.” 

Bela folded her arms over her chest, “I don’t need you, Sam. I took care of myself for 23 years before I met you, I don’t need some  _ man _ rushing in to take care of me.”

“I know you don’t need me,” Sam said, raising his eyebrows, “You’re more than equipped to take care of yourself, but I  _ want _ to be there for you. I don’t think any less of you for… for the way that things went right after you got back. You bounced back far quicker than I did. You’re so strong and smart and I wish that there was anything I could do to get rid of the guilt from letting you down...twice. There’s nothing I regret more.” 

Bela took a few steps forward and sat on the edge of the bed she had chosen, “You don’t need to feel guilty about that, Sam. It wasn’t your fault and I shouldn’t have thrown it in your face. There was nothing you could have done to save me from the Hellhounds, and it’s not your fault that the angels rescued you when they did. I know that I’m out of Hell now thanks to you, and I’m grateful for that.” 

Sam tried to speak, but Bela held up her hand, “My whole life… I have never had anybody on my side. You know about how my childhood went, but even as an adult… It’s always just been me. Being vulnerable is so fucking scary to me and I don’t know how to accept help, sometimes and honestly… you got to be a little bit overbearing. I’m sorry that I didn’t know how to verbalize that to you but I was so afraid that you’d kick me out and… I don’t have anywhere to go. I can’t access any of my own money, I can’t even be my own fucking person anymore because I’m legally dead. I just exist in a fucking Winchester bubble and I’m constantly afraid that one wrong move will land me out on my ass.”

“Bela,” Sam started, taking a few steps toward her, “We would  _ never _ kick you out - no matter what - you have a home with us. You always will, we don’t abandon our friends.” 

Bela took a deep breath, “I know that I…” she blushed, “I was the one who kissed you but I can’t be with you, not yet,” 

“But it’s something you’d want?” Sam asked, cautiously hopeful, “In the future?” 

Blushing, Bela nodded slowly, “I think so. I just… I have a lot of work to do on myself before I’m ready to be with someone else like that.” 

Sam nodded, “I will wait as long as you need, and if you never want that kind of relationship between us, I’m more than happy to just be your friend. We just need to communicate better, I’m happy to give you as much space as you need, but you need to tell me that you need it when you do.” 

Bela nodded, “You’re right. I’ll work on that, because you deserve that. Friends?” she asked with a small smile. 

“Of course,” Sam replied with a grin, “Now we need to get some sleep because Dean’s going to want to be on the road early. You can use the bathroom first if you want.” 

Bela picked up her toiletry bag and walked into the bathroom, a skip in her step that Sam hadn’t seen in quite a long time. He laid back on his bed, reveling in the weight off his chest from having made up with Bela. 

-

“What do you think is going on with them?” Dean asked, eyeing Cas curiously from his position on their bed.

“I think she’s having a difficult time adjusting to being back on Earth. While it was traumatic for Sam, of course, Bela was in Hell for significantly longer than he was. I imagine that remembering the events of her life before Hell is… incredibly difficult to do. I’m surprised that she’s doing as well as she seems to be.” 

“Has she said anything to you about it?” Dean pressed, leaning back on the bed, pulling Cas down with him. 

“She’s not as willing to speak with me about it as Sam was, no. She’s said a few things, but… I’m not sure that we’re equipped to help her in the way that she needs. I am, of course, more than willing to keep trying, and I will do whatever I can to help her.” Cas replied, wrapping an arm across Dean’s chest. 

“Do you think she’d want to talk to, like, my mom? Or Bobby or something? Maybe she’d be happier if she took a break from the bunker?” 

Cas nodded thoughtfully, “We could propose those options to her. It is possible that she might feel as though she’s being kicked out, though. That’s something that would need to be dealt with in a more… sensitive manner.” 

Dean let out a yawn, “I’ll give Mom a call sometime this week and see what she thinks. Or maybe we could just make a stop on the way back to the bunker. I haven’t seen Mom in a while anyway.” 

-

Sam was correct in saying that Dean would want to get an early start, but it meant that they arrived in Washington DC just before four that afternoon. They weren’t planning on staying the night so they headed straight to the local public library. 

Sam was able to find old blueprints of the building the museum was in and he and Cas began examining those while Bela and Dean used a couple of the computers to read through the museum's website in hopes to figure out where the femur was kept. “Here,” Bela said pointing to a block of text she was reading. “It’s part of a traveling exhibit of Saints’ relics.” 

  
“Perfect, I got a map of the place and it looks like they have a hall they use for the traveling exhibits,” Dean said, showing her his screen. “Don't suppose you’ve found anything about how protected this thing is?” 

Bela just shook her head. “Didn't think so,” Dean muttered. “Let’s go see what Geek Squad has found.” The two rejoined Sam and Cas at the table they had taken over, papers spread over the entire surface. 

“So, we think we know how we can get it,” Sam spoke quietly, making sure no one else could hear them. “There’s a rooftop entrance that we can get to from the fire escape of the building next door. That will lead us to the top floor of the building and we should be able to drop into any exhibit from the vents that connect the two floors.”

“We grab the femur and from there we can exit the building through the window in the gift shop since that drops into an alleyway,” Cas finished. Dean and Bela shared a look. 

“When does the museum close for the evening?” Bela asked. 

“Six,” Dean answered, having seen the schedule while perusing the website. 

“Perfect, we’ll wait until it’s dark and then break in through the front door,” she said with a smile. “Sound good?” Sam and Cas nodded reluctantly while Dean shot her a returning grin.

-

Stealing the femur was far easier than any of them expected, even Bela. As it turns out, cult-like Christians did not believe in security systems. Dean easily picked the lock on the front door of the museum and they were in under a minute. “This way,” Bela led them through the main hall of the museum to the hall with the traveling exhibit, larger banners advertising the relics that were inside. This door was unlocked, and after checking for any sign of an alarm, they were inside and right there, under a spotlight in the middle of the room, was Joan of Arc’s femur. 

“This feels too easy, right?” Sam murmured, glancing around warily. “Nothing is ever this easy for us.” 

“You two stay here and be a lookout,” Bela said, looking between Sam and Dean. Make sure no one comes in?” She didn’t wait for their response as she grabbed Cas’ arm and they walked around the other displays to get to the femur. “Do you see any sensors or anything? Something that will trigger an alarm?” 

Cas examined the display case, checking each corner thoroughly. “Not that I can see.” 

“Perfect,” Bela pulled her own lock picking set from her pocket, and she had the display case open in just a short moment. “You’ve got the bag?” Cas nodded and pulled a cloth bag from one of his inner coat pockets and held it open. Bela picked up the femur as delicately as she could and placed it in the bag, letting Cas tie it closed. 

“Let’s get out of here. The further we are from this museum, the better,” Cas agreed and they hurried back over to the entrance of the hall, where Dean held them both back. 

“Sam jinxed us, someone must have seen us and called the cops cause they’re outside waiting for someone with keys,” Dean explained. “Because breaking and entering is where these cops draw the line.” 

“How do we get out, then?” Bela asked and watched as Sam and Cas met each other gazes and grinned. “Oh for fuck’s sake, fine, we’ll follow your stupid plan.” Sam led them along the edge of the main hall to the gift shop, making sure to stay out of sight of the doors in case the cops could see inside somehow. Once in the gift shop, Sam unlocked the window and pushed it up slowly. 

“Everybody out,” Sam said, looking back toward the entrance. Dean climbed out first, then Cas so that they could help Bela down, and Sam exited last, pulling the window closed behind him. “How do we get around them and back to the car?” 

“We should be able to get back to the car if we go in the alley behind these buildings,” Cas said, looking around at all the buildings. 

“Good, let’s get back and then get the fuck out of this town,” Dean muttered as they walked away from the museum. 

-

“Hey Dean?” Sam asked, once they had left the city limits of DC, “Do you think we could make a quick stop at the Roadhouse on the way home? I want to see if Ash and Jo can get Bela set up with some new documents. She’s going to need a social and a passport, at least.” 

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Why don’t you give Jo a call just to be sure that they’re not out on a hunt or something.” Dean said, “We’ll probably stop somewhere in Illinois tonight, roll into the Roadhouse sometime tomorrow afternoon.”

“Yeah, okay,” Sam said, dialing her number. Dean tuned out Sam’s conversation, choosing instead to reach down and grab Cas’ hand, resting on the seat between them. He glanced over at Cas, who was smiling at him. 

“You want dinner or something?” Dean asked, squeezing Cas’ hand, but keeping his eyes trained on the road. 

“I would like a hamburger,” Cas replied thoughtfully, “If we have time to stop.” 

“Then we’ll get you one,” Dean replied decisively. He wanted to say more, but was interrupted by Sam. 

“Jo says that she’s actually in Sioux Falls visiting with a friend,” Sam said, “So I say we just find somewhere to stay for the night, head out tomorrow and link up with her at home.” 

Dean let out a sigh, “Alright. I’m going to get some distance between us and DC, and then we’ll stop for food and find a place to stay for the night.”

Bela and Sam talked quietly in the back seat and Cas was either resting or fully asleep, so Dean entertained himself with music while he drove. When he determined that they were sufficiently far from DC, he pulled off the highway at a sign that advertised fast food that appealed to him. 

Cas opened his eyes as the Impala rolled to a stop. “I’ll get some burgers to go,” Dean said, “Any special requests?” 

Sam and Bela shook their heads, but Cas unbuckled his seatbelt and made to get out with Dean. “I’ll come with you,” Cas said. 

Dean would be lying if he said the gesture didn’t make his heart melt a little bit. They were in and out of the restaurant relatively quickly, brown paper bags and a drink carrier in hand. Cas distributed the bags, and they returned to the highway in no time, wanting to get at least another hundred miles out of the way before stopping for the night. 

“Cas, you gotta hold my food,” Dean said, “But don’t steal my fries.”

Cas dutifully fed Dean fries as he drove, handing over his unwrapped burger when Dean asked for it. 

-

As they had done before, Dean and Cas took one of the motel rooms, while Bela and Sam took the other. 

“You got us a room with one bed this time,” Cas said to Dean once they were in their room for the night. 

“Yeah,” Dean replied, rubbing the back of his neck, “I thought I would try out the whole ‘being braver for you’ thing.” 

Cas grinned, pulling Dean in for a kiss, “I’m so proud of you.”

They went about their nighttime routines side by side, and fell into bed together. Dean grabbed the remote and flipped through the limited channels on the TV, “I’m kind of excited to get back to Sioux Falls,” Dean said, turning to Cas, “I haven’t gone this long without seeing my mom, like...ever.”

“I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you,” Cas replied with a smile, “I, too, look forward to spending some time with her. I enjoy her company.” 

“How do you think she’ll find Bela?” Dean asked, “They briefly met when she moved into Bobby’s before the… Hellhound situation, but they didn’t get to know each other very well.” 

Cas pursed his lips in thought, “I’m not sure, but I’m interested to find out.” They continued to whisper back and forth, wrapped up in a cheap motel duvet until sleep overtook them both. 

They jolted awake simultaneously as Sam pounded on their door, way too early in the morning for either of their tastes. They hurried out of bed, pulling on jeans and making sure that none of their personal items were left behind. Dean made one quick stop at a gas station to top off the Impala’s tank, and to get some coffee, and they were back on the highway, headed for Sioux Falls. 

This drive was far more animated than the one the previous night. Bela lamented some offshore bank accounts that she lacked access to, now that she was ‘dead’, and Sam reassured her that Jo and Ash could help her regain access to them, albeit by questionably legal means. That addition didn’t seem to phase Bela. 

“So what should I expect from your mother?” Bela mused, “She does know I’m back from the dead, right?” 

“I mentioned it when I saw her recently,” Sam replied, “I should let her know that we’re coming, though.” He pulled out his phone and sent a text. With the newfound knowledge about his mother’s love life, he didn’t want to chance surprising her. 

It was early evening by the time that they pulled into the driveway of Mary’s house, but she was in the living room waiting for them when they arrived nonetheless. She embraced her three boys and then turned to Bela, tentatively offering her a hug as well. 

Bela leaned forward and embraced her, “It’s nice to see you again Mrs. Winchester, especially under far better circumstances than the last time we met.” 

Mary smiled, “Call me Mary, please. I’m not that old.” 

Bela let out a genuine laugh, “Mary, then. It’s very gracious of you to host us on such short notice.” 

Mary looked at the three men, “She’s much more polite than the rest of you, I think I’d like to keep her around. Are you guys hungry?” 

Dean stepped forward into the kitchen, already making himself at home, “I could eat, I guess.” 

The five of them crowded around Mary’s kitchen table, eating the chili Mary had made earlier in the day, and drinking beers. They weren’t totally sure how long they’d be staying in Sioux Falls, but Sam and Dean both wanted to enjoy their time with Mary while they were in town. They planned to meet up with Jo and her friend sometime the next day, and knew that they should also pay Bobby and Karen a visit as well. 

-

“So you need me to… produce an entirely new identity for somebody who is legally considered dead, including a new social security number, a new passport and you want me to help her get access to her offshore bank accounts?” Jo asked incredulously, “That’s fucking -”

“ _ Awesome _ ,” Jo’s friend Charlie cut in, “I’ve always wanted to try and break into a Swiss bank account.” 

“And you can pull that off,” Dean asked skeptically, “We don’t need the CIA on our asses... again.” 

“Of course she can do it,” Jo replied defensively, putting her hand on Charlie’s thigh, “Charlie is the best there is. She can do absolutely anything.” 

Charlie beamed at Jo, “Coming from  _ you _ ? Oh my god, you’re an absolute fucking genius, you put all of us to shame.” 

Jo and Charlie went back and forth, clearly flirting, “Alright, alright, break it up, Jesus.” Dean interrupted, “This is nauseating.”

Jo leveled him with a look, “Coming from  _ you _ ? From what I heard, you put on quite a show with your angel over there when you were getting Famine’s ring.” 

Dean’s face turned beet red, “It’s unfair to count things that happened under magical influence,” he muttered. 

Sam let out a laugh, “You’re still disgustingly in love without it, don’t even start.” 

Once everything settled down, the five of them discussed the details of the things Bela would need, and Jo and Charlie worked to determine how long it would actually take them to arrange the necessary documents. When they determined it would be more than a few days, they started planning to stay at Mary’s for the foreseeable future. 

Upon hearing the plans, Bela pulled Sam aside, “What if… you, Dean and Cas went back to the bunker while I waited for them to finish my documents? I think that maybe… some time out of the bunker and some time away from you,” she hesitated, “It might help me figure myself out a bit.” 

“Okay,” Sam said, nodding, “If you think that will be good for you, I fully support it.” 

Sam and Bela ironed out the details with Mary, while Dean and Cas talked animatedly with Charlie and Jo about some TV show they had all watched and enjoyed. By the time that everyone was getting tired, Jo and Charlie retreated to Bobby and Karen’s, and Mary was fast asleep in her bed. Dean and Cas made their way to Dean’s old room, leaving Sam and Bela alone in the living room. 

“I can take the couch,” Sam said to Bela, “I’ll show you where my room is, you can sleep in there.” 

-

The following afternoon, Sam and Dean decided that they needed to ensure that Bela had a cell phone before they left her in Sioux Falls. Dean also realized that, since Cas hadn’t really left his side since becoming human, they hadn’t gotten around to getting him a cell phone either. 

They piled into the Impala and drove out to the nearest mall, promising Mary that they’d pick up something for dinner on the way home. Once inside the phone store, Bela headed over to the display advertising the newest releases - phones that included features like touch screens. Not particularly interested in novelty, Cas picked up a generic phone that he knew would serve his purpose and waited for Bela to make her decision. 

Sam walked up to the counter and paid for both phones in cash and arranged prepaid plans for both of them. 

They spent the rest of the afternoon perusing the mall. Bela told the three men that she needed to buy some toiletries that  _ ‘weren’t from somewhere ghastly like the Dollar Store or, god forbid, a gas station’ _ and hurried away, leaving them to wander through whatever stores caught Cas’ eye. 

Bela caught up with them, several bags in hand, “Are we ready to get out of here?” 

They headed out the mall, discussing where they wanted to pick up dinner from. Eventually they agreed on a local Chinese restaurant, so Dean headed in that direction, instructing Sam to call and find out what Mary, Bobby, Karen, Charlie and Jo wanted to eat. 

Although the dinner with all of their friends and family reminded both Sam and Dean that they genuinely loved their life in Sioux Falls, they knew that they belonged back in Lebanon, so they piled back into the Impala with Cas, and waved goodbye to their mother - and this time, Bela. 

-

Bela had given Sam the card with Anael’s phone number so that they could contact her when they returned to the bunker and now all three men were sitting at one the library tables, staring at the little piece of paper.

“One of us has to call her,” Dean eventually said. 

“Nose goes!” Sam suddenly called and touched his finger to his nose. Dean instinctively did the same, leaving Cas watching them with squinted eyes. “Looks like you gotta call her Cas.” 

“You mean to say that I am the one who has to call Anael because you two took advantage of my lack of knowledge in human customs?” Cas asked, raising a single eyebrow. Dean almost gave in right then and agreed to call but Cas just sighed and reached out and grabbed the card. “Where should we meet her?” 

“Depends on where she’s currently at,” Dean shrugged. Pick as close to the middle as you can.” Cas rolled his eyes and pulled his phone from his coat pocket, dialing the number on the card. 

“I’m assuming this is a Winchester calling to tragically tell me that they haven’t been able to find the relic?” Anael answered, sounding sarcastically cheerful. 

“Close,” Cas said. “Not a Winchester, but we did find the femur. Where are you currently located?” 

“Park Falls, Wisconsin,” Anael said, and Cas could tell she was genuinely surprised. 

“Shall we meet you there or are going to be traveling soon?” 

“I like a man who knows exactly what to ask. I just got here, so you can meet me here,” Anael sounded smug and he knew Dean was glaring but as long as Anael kept her end of the deal, Cas would have gone anywhere. 

“We’ll be there tomorrow evening,” Cas said and hung up before Anael could think of a retort. 

“What happened to meeting her halfway?” Dean asked, crossing his arms. 

“Do you really think an angel like Anael would agree to anything less than us dragging our sorry asses all the way to her?” Sam replied before Cas could. “Where is she?” 

“Park Falls. In Wisconsin, “ Cas said. “Which means we need to get our rest. We will have to leave early if we wish to make it by evening.” With that, Cas took off down the hallway to his and Dean’s bedroom. He could hear Deans scrambling to follow, though neither said anything until their door was closed behind them. 

“Sorry for snapping at you like that,” Dean muttered. “I didn’t mean it, and I know Anael would make us come to her.” 

“Thank you for apologizing,” Cas turned to face Dean and sighed. “I was not being facetious when I said we needed our rest. It is over a twelve-hour drive to Wisconsin.” 

“Yeah, I know, babe,” Dean said and wrapped an arm around Cas’ waist. “But it’s still pretty early, we could probably watch a movie.” 

“Dean? May I ask you a question?” Cas rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly unsure of if he wanted to broach this topic but he had been wondering for weeks now. 

“Of course,” Dean leaned back so he could look Cas in the eyes.    
  


“Before...when we first entered a romantic relationship, you would call me angel, but you haven’t since I lost my grace,” Cas looked down as he spoke. Perhaps Dean chose not to call him that because it was a reminder of everything he could no longer do. 

“I’m not hearing a question in there, Cas,” Dean whispered. 

“Why do you no longer use that term of endearment?” Cas forced out, not sure if he even really wanted to know the answer. 

“Baby,” Dean gripped Cas’ chin between his thumb and finger and tilted his head up. “I didn’t know if it was something you would be comfortable with since Metatron took your grace, since you weren’t technically an angel anymore, but...you’ve been my angel since the beginning, that didn’t change.” 

“You didn’t want to make  _ me _ uncomfortable?” Cas asked, hope blooming in his chest. 

“Of course not, why, what did you think was the reason?” Dean pulled Cas closer, the entire length of their bodies pressed together now. 

“I...I wasn’t sure if you were okay with my lack of grace. There are so many things I can no longer do for you now that I’m human-” Cas was cut off when Dean pressed their lips together, his eyes fluttering shut as he fell into Dean’s hold. 

“Baby...angel,” Dean mumbled, barely pulling away from Cas. “I’ve told you before, I don’t need you to be useful, I just need you. I...I love you, Cas.”

“Dean-”

“You don’t have to say it back. I know you’re still deciphering all your human emotions and it’s confusing and whatever, but I just wanted you to know. Because I do, Cas, I love you,” Dean took a deep breath. “I have for a while, I’ve just been too scared to say it, but you deserve to know, and that’s why I want you around Cas, not because you can heal my cuts, but because I love you.” 

“I love you too, Dean,” Cas said as soon as Dean had finished his rant. “I love you more than I ever thought possible. As an angel, I thought I knew what love was, what it felt like but...I knew that I truly did not have the slightest inclination until I met you and saw your soul. You taught me what love is, Dean.” 

“Shit, angel, didn’t expect that,” Dean chuckled, hands moving to grip both of Cas’. “I think we should go to bed now. Does that sound good?” 

“I think that is exactly what we should do.” Cas stepped backwards toward their bed, pulling Dean with him.

-

“Cas! Dean! Come on we have to go!” Both men woke suddenly to the pounding on their bedroom door. 

“Motherfucker,” Dean muttered as he checked the time. “Fucking shit, Cas, we gotta get moving.” Cas just groaned behind him in bed. “Angel, come on, we already slept in. I’ll make you some coffee, okay, but you have to get up and get in the car for that to happen.” Dean didn’t bother to wait and pulled open a few drawers of their dresser. He threw a pair of jeans, a shirt, and a flannel at Cas before grabbing his own to get changed. He grabbed his duffel from the closet and threw a few more pieces of clothing in before zipping it up. “Come on, get up and get dressed, sunshine.”

Cas just groaned as he finally pulled himself up, Dean leaving the room once he was satisfied Cas was up and would stay up. He headed straight for the kitchen to make some coffee, getting down three travel mugs from the cabinet. 

“Good to see you’re finally with the land of the living,” Sam said as he joined Dean in the kitchen. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Dean rolled his eyes. “Cas and I maybe went to bed later than we should’ve.” 

“I’m not surprised. Give me your bag and I’ll throw it in the car. You just meet me there with the coffee and Cas,” Sam said, catching Dean’s bag as he slid it across the counter. Sam easily snatched it up and was out of the room as quick as he came. 

Dean was just pouring the coffee into the different mugs when Cas stumbled in, still rubbing his eyes, but dressed and ready to go. “Hey sunshine. Got your coffee ready.” Cas didn’t say anything as he took the mug and down almost half of it in one gulp. Dean watched fondly, following Cas up to the garage with the other two mugs, handing one to Sam through the open window of the Impala. He and Cas got in the front seat and after making sure they had Joan’s bone, they were leaving, heading north for Park Falls. 

-

Thanks to Dean’s driving, they arrived in Park Falls just after five in the afternoon. It didn’t take them long to find Sister Jo’s tent in the small town so Dean parked the car and they headed inside to wait at the back for the end of her so-called sermon. 

“Where’s the cute one?” Anael asked once the tent was empty save for the four of them. “I liked her. Much better than you three.” Dean rolled his eyes and set the bag with the femur on top of her donation box. 

“Now, how do we break open the pearly gates?” Anael ignored him as she opened the bag and tipped the bone into her hand. She let the bag drop to the floor as she brought the femur up and inhaled deeply, a smile stretching across her face. 

“Who would have thunk it, you boys can be useful?” she smirked. “And a deal is a deal. If you want to reopen the gates to Heaven, you have to reverse the spell.” 

“And just how do we reverse the spell?” Cas asked, already fed up with her way of talking around a subject. 

“Oh, Castiel, you know exactly what I mean. You have to kill the spellcaster,” she said with a wicked smile. “You have to kill Metatron.” 

“And how do we do that? He’s locked up in Heaven?” Sam asked, turning Anael’s attention to him.

“Sorry boys, but that wasn’t part of the deal. You got me my relic and I told you how to reopen the gates of Heaven. Transaction completed,” Anael tucked the bone into her own bag and grabbed her donation box. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other places to be.” She pushed past them and strutted out of the tent. 

Cas grabbed Dean’s arm to keep him in place, the hunter fuming with anger. “Let me stab her, just a little.” 

“Dean,” Cas sighed. “As much as I loathe to admit it, she is right. She completed her end of the deal. We must figure out how to lure Metatron down to Earth on our own.” 

“Do you think if we asked Gabriel, he’d help?” Sam suggested, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “It’s worth a shot, at least?” 

“I believe so, yes,” Cas agreed. “But not here. I do not want to stay in this tent or this town any longer.” With that, the three of them piled back into the Impala and drove an hour south and found a motel there to stay the night. 

“Who has the best chance of getting him to actually listen?” Dean asked once they were settled in their room. “Cas, you’re his brother.” 

“That is true. I do not believe that he is any more likely to pay attention to one of us over the other but I shall pray to him nonetheless,” Cas grumbled and closed his eyes. “Gabriel, my brother, we have found a way to reopen the doors to Heaven but we have come across an obstacle that we have no way of crossing. If you could assist us in any way, we would be very grateful.” All three men waited with bated breath but after almost a full minute of nothing, they all silently agreed that Gabriel would not show. 

Deciding to table the discussion for the night, Sam grabbed them dinner at a nearby diner and within a few hours, they were in bed and asleep. 

Or rather, Cas was trying to sleep. His bouts of insomnia had yet to go away so rather than disturb Sam or Dean with his restlessness, he quietly slipped from bed and headed outside to sit on the hood of the Impala. He was alone for a moment before he felt the wind shift and heard the sound of wings. 

“Hey little brother!” Gabriel exclaimed as he plopped onto the Impala beside Cas. 

“Gabriel, I wasn’t expecting you,” Cas said, not even bothering to look over at him. 

“Well, I didn’t really feel like jumping through hoops to explain everything to your boy toys,” Gabriel said. “You found a way to reopen the gates, then?” 

“We have to kill Metatron. Reverse the spell. Except Metatron locked himself in Heaven,” Cas explained, rubbing his hands together. “It seems we are at an impasse.” 

“Not necessarily,” Gabriel said, sitting up straighter. “I have an idea. But you have to help me.” 

“Me? Why do you need my help?” Cas asked.

“We have to reverse the spell in order to open the gates, but we have to find a way to get into Heaven first,” Gabriel paused and glanced over at him. “We have to recover your grace.” 

“My grace? I thought it was destroyed in the spell?” Cas furrowed his eyebrows, mind beginning to race. 

“Not quite. Angelic grace can’t be destroyed like that, only contained. Metatron would have to hide it somewhere on Earth, it still would have fallen when the spell was completed and that would mean he lost track of it. If we find it, it’ll weaken the spell enough that I can get us in the backdoor of Heaven.” 

“I’ll have to become an angel again?” Cas asked, looking back at the motel room where Dean and Sam lay sleeping. 

  
“You say that like it’s a bad thing, Cassie,” Gabriel joked, though he tapered off when he saw how serious Cas was. “You like being a human.” 

“Over the past several months, I have learned so many new things, I feel so much more than I ever did as an angel and I don’t want to lose that,” Cas said softly. “But being an angel is what I’ve always known. I can help so many people, I can heal and protect.” 

“Castiel, I’m sorry. It’s the only way to kill Metatron,” Gabriel said. Cas took a deep breath, looking up at the sky for a long moment before nodding.

“I’ll tell them in the morning, and we can begin our search,” Cas said. 

“I’ll be back at dawn.” Gabriel disappeared with a flap of wings and then, the night was silent once more. 

-

Cas was unable to sleep the rest of the night, sitting on the edge of the bed while he watched Dean. Just before dawn broke, he crawled back into his spot and gently shook Dean awake. 

“Angel?” he muttered, rubbing his eyes as he glanced back at the clock. “Why are we up so early.” 

“I spoke with Gabriel last night. He has a way to get into Heaven and kill Metatron,” Cas said quietly, not wanting to wake Sam. It was going to be hard enough saying goodbye to Dean. 

“Great, so what are we waiting for?” 

“You are not a part of this plan, Dean. It is just Gabriel and I,” Cas cupped Dean’s jaw tenderly. 

“What exactly is the plan, Cas?” Dean sat up, watching Cas with narrowed eyes. 

“Metatron resides in Heaven. With the spell at full power, there is no way to enter. If we were to weaken the spell by retrieving my grace, Gabriel believes he will be able to get us in,” Cas moved with Dean, sitting up straight in bed but refusing to meet his eyes. 

“Your grace...you mean you’re gonna be an angel again?” Dean asked, voice wavering just enough for Cas to notice. 

“Yes, Dean, it does.” 

“So what, you’re just going to go back to being Heaven’s little bitch?” Dean sneered, not caring to control his volume anymore. “

“No, Dean, that is not my intention,” Cas tried to defend himself but Dean wasn’t hearing any of it. 

“You’re going to just up and abandon us little humans so you can feel useful again, then? Do I mean anything to you?” Cas and Dean both ignored Sam’s confused attempts to interrupt them. 

“Of course you mean something to me, you mean everything. But this, the angels falling, this is my fault Dean. I was the one that helped Metatron complete the spell and I must be the one to fix it,” Cas checked the time and sighed sadly. “I have to go now, Dean, I am sorry for leaving so suddenly, but please never doubt that I love you, angel or not.” 

“If you really loved me, you wouldn’t walk out that door. You wouldn’t take your grace back. You’d stay a human, with me, and we’d figure something else out,” Dean was pleading, begging for Cas to  _ stay _ , and it broke every fiber of Cas’ heart to ignore him. 

“Goodbye, Dean.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as usual, you can follow me on tumblr @hellerjesuschrist, and Emily @hazloveshisboo


	6. Chapter 6

Cas had been standing outside the entrance to the bunker for close to two hours now. He wasn’t sure whether he should enter or not, after his last conversation with Dean. 

As much as he hated leaving Dean, he knew that he had made the right call. He and Gabriel had found his grace in a small library in a tiny town in Montana and, as Gabriel had suspected, it weakened the spell enough that he was able to get them into Heaven through a portal. Once they had made it in, finding and killing Metatron had been the easiest part of their quest. 

With Metatron dead, the gates of Heaven were reopened and angels began flooding back in, along with all the souls stuck in limbo. With all the new souls that suddenly appeared, as well as the angels that were searching for a leader to follow, Gabriel reluctantly agreed to stay on as the new sheriff in town, as Dean would have phrased it. 

And now Cas was back. Seeking forgiveness that he wasn’t sure he would get. 

Cas finally worked up the courage to enter the bunker, letting the door fall shut with a heavy thud. Only a moment later, Sam and Dean rounded the corner into the library just as Cas stepped off the stairs. “Cas,” Sam sighed in relief and dropped his weapon to his side, hurrying forward to hug him. Cas was more than happy to return the affection, smiling softly. 

“It is good to see you again, Sam,” Cas said as they pulled away from each other.    
  
“Yeah, you too. I was worried something had happened to you,” Sam clapped his shoulder and glanced over at Dean, wincing a bit at how stoic his expression was. “I’ll give you two some time to talk.” With that, Sam was quickly leaving the room. 

“Dean-” 

“You think you can just show up again after the shit you pulled? You fucking left, Cas!” Dean’s voice crescendoed as he spoke until he was shouting. 

“I had no choice, Dean!” Cas huffed. “I had to fix this, it is my fault that Metatron was able to cast the spell to begin with!” 

“You always have a choice! And you chose Heaven!” Dean’s voice shook and Cas felt all his anger dissipate. “You fucking chose Heaven and left me behind without a second thought.” 

“Dean, how could you think I would ever choose anything but you?” Cas said, a look in his eyes that almost scared Dean, “Do you really think so little of the sacrifices I’ve made that you would doubt that? I needed to fix what I broke with Heaven and the angels but you are my choice. You have always been.”

“How am I supposed to believe you when you jumped at the first chance to become an angel again?” Dean asked, tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. “I prayed to you, Cas, every night and you couldn’t be assed to give a response.” 

“Dean,” Cas said quietly, pulling a small box from his coat pocket and setting it on the table in front of Dean. 

“You can’t make this up with a fucking gift, Cas! I begged for you to come home and you didn’t fucking listen!” 

“Dean, please open the box and I’ll be able to explain why-”

“You were too busy partying it up with all your angel buddies to care what I was saying-”

“Dammit Dean!” Cas interrupted, slamming a hand on the table. “Just open the fucking box.” Dean looked taken aback. Cas had never been that angry with him before, even when they were fighting. Cas watched him pointedly, nodding at the box, which finally got Dean to move. He picked up the box and slowly opened it to reveal a silver necklace with a vial on the end, filled with a blue fluid that glowed and swirled around in the small container. 

“Cas,” Dean’s voice broke. “Is this…” 

“It is my grace, yes. This is why I did not respond to your prayers Dean,” Cas took a step forward toward Dean, reaching out and placing his hand over Dean’s. “I have been alive for thousands upon thousands of years, but I have never felt happier than I have the past three months, living as a human with you.” 

“I’m sorry, Cas,” Dean whispered. “You know I didn’t mean what I said at the motel? And just now? I just...I get so scared when you talk about leaving and then I get angry about being scared.” 

“I know Dean. I am sorry for leaving the way I did,” Cas took the box from Dean’s hands and carefully pulled the necklace out. “May I?” Dean nodded and lowered his head so Cas could lift the chain over it, settling it against his neck. It was long enough that it fell under Dean’s shirt to rest right next to his heart. 

“I love you,” Dean whispered, resting his forehead against Cas’, reveling in the feel of the warmth of his grace against his skin. 

“I love you too, Dean,” Cas wrapped an arm around Dean’s waist and pulled him closer. “More than I’ve ever loved anything.” Cas surged forward and finally kissed Dean. It had been over a week since they had done so, since they had even touched, and Cas didn’t realize how much he missed Dean’s touch, how much he needed it. 

“Come on,” Dean muttered and pulled himself away from Cas, dragging his hand down Cas’ arm until he could intertwine their fingers. Cas eagerly followed him down the hall, shutting and locking their bedroom door behind them. 

“Dean-” Cas grunted as Dean turned them around and shoved Cas onto the bed hard enough that he fell flat on his back. Dean immediately straddled him, grabbing Cas’ wrists in each of his hands, holding them down against the mattress. 

“I’ve missed you, Cas. I missed all of you, but this too. Didn’t realize how much a regular pounding relieves stress,” Dean smiled down at him and licked his lips. “But I’m gonna be on top this time.” Cas swallowed heavily as he watched Dean sit up straight and yank his t-shirt over his head. The necklace containing Cas’ grace fell against his bare skin and Cas wanted nothing more than to roll them over and fuck Dean into the mattress. 

“Don’t even think about it,” Dean panted, grinning down at Cas. “I know that look on your face, don’t think I won’t tie you up.” Cas’ breath hitched at the idea, being completely at Dean’s mercy. “Oh? Maybe next time, cowboy.” 

“I do believe you are the cowboy in this scenario,” Dean laughed breathlessly at that as he ground his ass down on Cas’ crotch. “Dean…” Dean ignored him as he climbed off Cas to shuck his jeans and briefs off as fast as he could. Cas only managed to shove his pants halfway down his thighs by the time Dean was back on top of him. 

“You’re lucky I showered earlier,” Dean grumbled as he managed to reach over and grab the lube from the bedside table. 

“Are you going to…” Cas asked, watching as Dean squeezed lube onto three of his own fingers. Dean smirked and reached behind himself. 

“Fuck myself open for you? I am,” Dean said. Cas could do nothing but lay in agony as he watched Dean writhe and whimper as he fingered himself, mouth dropping open and eyes clenched shut. 

“Dean, please,” Cas didn’t want to say he begged, but it was close as he bucked his hips up into Dean’s. 

“Hold your fucking horses,” Dean mumbled, biting his lip as he began rocking his hips on his fingers. “Hold your dick up.” Cas did as he was told immediately, holding himself around the base as Dean sank down on his length, only stopping when their skin was flush. 

Cas grunted as Dean began to bounce, back arched slightly and skin shiny with sweat. Nothing in Heaven could ever compare to the sight that was Dean Winchester stretched open on his cock, his grace wrapped around Dean’s neck, claiming him. 

Dean rode him fast and hard, their skin slapping and both men grunting with the exertion. Dean eventually lost his momentum and fell forward to hold onto Cas’ shoulders, the angle making it much easier to hit his prostate. As he leaned forward, his necklace fell onto Cas’ chest, his grace seeming to glow brighter the closer it was to its original owner. Cas grunted and fucked up once and then Dean was coming with a cry, spilling onto Cas’ stomach. 

“Come for me, angel,” Dean moaned, not stilling his hips until he felt Cas come, and only then did he finally collapse onto Cas’ chest. Cas was breathing heavily as they laid together, and he brought his hand up to scratch the back of Dean’s scalp. 

“I love you,” Cas whispered into the skin of Dean’s shoulder, not even sure the other man could hear him. Dean just smiled and pressed a kiss to Cas’ head, letting his angel’s touch lull him to sleep. 

-

Sam jumped a little when his phone rang, vibrating across the table. He set his book down on the table as he snatched his phone up, heart pounding a bit when he saw Bela’s name. They had been talking the past few months, but it was never very frequent and usually no more than five or ten minutes at a time, so when he got the opportunity to talk to her, it always made him a little giddy. 

“Hello?” he answered, trying to sound calm and collected. 

“Sam? How have you been?” Bela asked, and Sam, just like every other time she called, hadn’t realized how much he missed her voice. 

“I’ve been good, went on a hunt that only took a few days, and I’ve been researching for a couple other hunters. How about you, how have you been?” They made their usual small talk for a few more minutes before Bela pointedly cleared her throat. 

“I was wondering, Sam, if you would be willing to make the drive up here to come pick me up,” Bela sounded nervous but Sam couldn’t tell past the churning in his own stomach. 

“You want me to pick you up? To...to bring you back to the bunker?” Sam stammered a little, not having expected anything like this.

“If that’s okay, yes.” 

“Of course it’s okay!” Sam said, checking his watch. Unfortunately, It was too late for him to justify driving up that night. “I’ll leave first thing in the morning.” 

“Great, I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Bela said and Sam grinned. It had been far too long since he had seen her. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

-

True to his word, Sam left before five the next morning. He had told Dean and Cas as soon as he had gotten off the phone with Bela, and Dean’s response had been a dirty grin and asking how long he and Cas would have the bunker to themselves. 

  
Sam had rolled his eyes and refused to answer, instead going to pack his bag. 

Arriving at Sioux Falls before noon, he pulled into his mom’s driveway and wiped his hands on his jeans nervously. Bela stayed in order to get some time on her own in order to work through her trauma and Sam was happy that she was obviously in a better place if she was asking to come back to the bunker, but he was unsure of Bela’s feelings regarding him now. Before, a relationship between them had been a possibility but now...Sam just didn’t know. 

He finally pulled himself from his car, heading right inside and calling for his mom and Bela. Mary responded, telling him to come to her office. Sam dropped his bag on the couch - not sure how long they would be staying in Sioux Falls - and made the short walk down the hall. As soon as he stepped in, he didn’t even recognize the room. 

  
“What’s all this?” Sam asked, looking around. 

“Bela helped me,” Mary said with a smile. “She didn’t have much else to do so I told her I could use some help - with compensation, of course - and she streamlined my whole process! I can find things so much easier when everything is labeled!” 

“That’s great, Mom! I’m glad things are going well,” Sam smiled and finally looked at Bela. She looked...happy. Compared to the last time he saw her, she was practically glowing. Mary kept rambling on about how Bela helped her create an actual brand with a logo and business cards but Sam was only half-listening. 

“It was really no trouble at all, Mary, it’s what I do for a living anyway. And you let me stay here, I was happy to help however I could,” Bela said, not looking away from Sam. “But, I fear it’s time for me to go. My chariot awaits.” 

“Of courses,” Mary stood and hugged Bela tightly, rubbing her back. “Call if you need anything, okay? Even if it’s just because one of my sons is being an ass.” 

“You do the same,” Bela laughed. “I’ll talk to you soon. I’ll go grab my bags, Sam, and then we can be off.” Bela left the room, heading upstairs. 

“I can see why you love her,” Mary said, Sam snapping his head over to her. “She’s beautiful, of course, but she’s so smart and witty. Reminds me of Dean a little bit.” 

“Mom…” 

“Be careful, alright? She’s miles ahead of where she was two months ago but that doesn’t mean everything is okay now,” Mary smiled up at Sam and patted his cheek. “I love you.” 

  
“Love you too, Mom. Sorry I can’t stay longer,” he apologized, truly meaning it. He was glad to be living away from home, but he missed his mom every day. 

“It’s alright, I understand. She’s been getting restless,” Mary looked over as Bela returned with two bags: a suitcase and a smaller, matching duffle bag. 

“Ready?” she asked Sam. He nodded and they said goodbye to Mary one last time before heading out to his car, Sam snatching his bag from the couch on the way. He put their bags in the trunk and soon, they were on the way out of Sioux Falls. 

“One of the things I’ve missed most since being brought back is traveling. I traveled everywhere, I’ve been to almost every country in Europe, half in Africa and Asia…” Bela said almost an hour into the drive. It had been mostly silent until then, both too nervous around each other to say much. 

“Well, I can’t give you Paris or anything but we don’t have to go back to the bunker yet,” Sam offered. “We could take the long way back.” Bela looked over at him with soft eyes and then nodded. 

“The long way sounds nice.” 

-

Sam finally decided to pull off the highway just after crossing the state line into Montana. As soon as he started to pull into one of the regular seedy motels that they usually stayed in, Bela stopped him. 

“I am not staying somewhere that would shine like a disco ball under a black light,” she said seriously. “Keep driving and find me somewhere nice.” Sam was smart enough not to argue and was able to find them a local inn that had vacancies thanks to it being the off season. 

Sam booked their room for the night and took the key, walking with Bela upstairs. As soon as he unlocked the door, he grimaced to himself - one bed. 

“Bela, I’m sorry, I completely forgot to ask for a room with two beds, I can go down and book another room and you can have this one,” Sam said and he was already backing up to let her through when she placed a hand on his arm. 

“I think it’ll be quite alright if we share a bed, Sam,” Bela said, stepping into the room backwards and pulling Sam with her. Sam stumbled a little as he followed her in, shutting the door behind him. 

“Could I have the bathroom first?” Bela asked, already digging through her bag to pull out a set of pajamas and her toiletry bag. 

“Course,” Sam nodded, not moving from his spot as Bela shut herself into the bathroom. He let out a sigh and leaned back against the door. He could be respectful, he had to be respectful. This did not mean that Bela was interested in anything and he was not going to push it. 

He changed into his own pajamas - a worn t-shirt and plaid pants - and waited for Bela so that he could brush his teeth but as soon as she stepped out of the bathroom, Sam could barely remember his own name. 

She was wearing a deep red pajama set, in what Sam assumed was silk. The tank top was cut low in the back and the shorts barely covered her ass. “All done,” Bela said cheerfully, standing right in front of the bathroom door. “Did you need in here?” 

“Uh, yeah, I-I did,” Sam stuttered and swallowed, refusing to look at Bela as he grabbed his own bag and made his way to the bathroom. Except Bela also refused to move from where she was standing, meaning Sam had to squeeze past her, the bare skin of their arms brushing together. He shut the door, a bit harder than he meant to, and took a deep breath. 

Bela hadn’t said that she was interested, he reminded himself. He had to let her make the decision about them. 

Sam took his time brushing his teeth, trying to put off the inevitable of getting into bed with Bela. If he was lucky, she would be asleep by the time he joined her. After finishing, he stepped back into the room and Bela was in bed, but she was sitting up with a book in her lap. Sam turned the main light off, leaving just the lamps to light the room, and carefully slid into bed beside Bela. He did his best to keep his distance, not wanting to make it obvious that he was trying not to touch her. 

“Sam?” Bela asked quietly. “I know it’s been a while, but perhaps you could read to me?” 

“Oh,” Sam was a bit surprised but nodded, holding his hand out for the book. “Not a problem. I, uh, I missed reading to you.” He waited for Bela to properly lay down in bed before he began reading, and before he knew it, Bela was asleep on the pillow, chest rising and falling evenly in a peaceful slumber. Sam smiled and marked their place in the book and set it on the nightstand, turned off the lamps, and laid down in bed, falling asleep easily knowing that Bela was right next to him and safe. 

-

Bela opened her eyes slowly, glancing over at Sam where he was still sleeping on the bed next to her. She reached out and brushed a strand of hair from his face gently, smiling as he leaned into her touch. She carefully slid out of bed and got everything she needed before heading into the bathroom to get ready for the day. 

Sam was sitting up in bed by the time Bela was finished, laptop open on his lap. “Morning,” he said smiling over at her. “So I was looking and there’s this Applefest thing that’s not too far from here if you wanted to check it out?” 

“Sounds good,” she said, sitting down on the end of the bed to tug her shoes on, making sure she was close enough to brush against Sam’s leg. Over the past few days as they had been traveling together, she had done her best to make her attraction known and Sam had definitely noticed, but was too much of a gentleman to do anything about. 

Bela appreciated that more than she thought she would. Sam was letting her make the first move, and after everything that she had been through, she needed that option. But she had made her choice.

She chose Sam. 

“You go get ready then,” Bela said and reached up, placing a hand on his thigh. “I’ll get our things packed in the car?” 

“Yeah, uh...that, that sounds good,” Sam stuttered and jerked his head in what was supposed to be a nod. Bela squeezed his thigh once before letting go so that Sam could get up, which he did hurriedly. Bela watched as he gathered his clothes and toiletries and then locked himself in the bathroom. Bela smirked a little to herself as she gathered her things into her bags and then carried them down to the car. 

Sam joined her in the car less than twenty minutes later, throwing his bag in the back seat. “Ready?” 

“Ready,” Bela confirmed, staring out the window as Sam pulled back onto the highway. It wasn’t a long drive to get the festival, mid-morning by the time they arrived. It was already crowded, cars filling up the grassy fields on either side of the orchard. “It smells divine,” Bela remarked as they began walking toward the tents. 

Sam agreed and as they got closer to the crowds, Bela took a deep breath. She still wasn’t great in large groups of people so she grabbed Sam’s hand, lacing their fingers together. The physical touch brought her comfort, knowing he was right there beside her. 

  
“You want something to eat?” Sam asked once they were walking along the rows of tents.There were all types of vendors, from food to fresh produce, to crafts, to beer. 

“Oh yes please, I’m starving,” Bela said, dragging Sam over to a tent that was selling fruit pastries. She asked for an apple filled one - she had to stay true to the theme - and Sam paid before she could pull her wallet out. 

“Thank you,” Sam said to the vendor as they walked away, Bela’s pastry in her free hand. 

“Sam, you know I have my money now, I can buy my own things,” she said, raising her eyebrows up at him. 

“I know you can, Bela, but...I wanted to,” Sam shrugged. 

“You know what the occasion is when a woman has her food bought for her?” Bela asked, but continued before Sam could answer. “It’s a date. Is this a date, Sam?” 

“Oh, uh, that’s not what I really intended when I asked-”

“Because I would like it to be,” that stopped Sam in his tracks, staring down at her. “What? Did I say something surprising?” 

“Uh, yeah, I just...I didn’t know if you were ready,” Sam admitted. Bela cooed a little and reached up, patting his cheek. 

  
“That’s very sweet of you, Sam, and I am very grateful you waited until I was ready. But I’m ready now.” 

“That’s good to know,” Sam said. “I would kiss you right now but I don’t really wanna do that while we’re surrounded by people.”   
  


“Is that so?” Bela asked as they began walking again, the two of them much closer together now. “Is it because you wouldn’t be able to control yourself?” 

“I think I’ve been controlling myself just fine the last three days,” Sam said, causing Bela to laugh as she took a bite of her pastry. 

“Have you?” Bela asked teasingly. 

“Considering I didn’t throw you down on the bed and fuck you that first night, yeah, I’d say I’m controlling myself just fine,” Sam said, leaving Bela speechless. She hadn’t expected that to come out of his mouth at all, and she wasn’t a fan of being thrown off her feet. 

“Well,” Bela said, composing herself with a smug grin. “Perhaps since you no longer have to control yourself, you could do that tonight.” 

-

Sam and Bela spent the rest of the day at the festival, leaving with a six-pack of locally-brewed hard cider for Dean and a jar of local honey for Cas. They drove a few more hours before Bela found them a bed and breakfast for the night. Sam headed out to grab them dinner while Bela showered and dressed in her pajamas - luxurious silk sets that she knew showed off her body. She was laying in bed and reading a book when Sam returned. 

“Bela…” Sam started while they were eating, the food spread out on the bed. “What you said earlier, at the festival? About me not having to control myself.” 

  
“What about it?” she looked at him earnestly. She knew if she wanted this work she couldn’t treat it like she had her previous flings, and she did want this to last. 

“Bela, we just started dating as of today and I like you a lot, I don’t want to rush things,” Sam explained. “I do want to do that with you, trust me, I do, but I want to wait until we’re for sure ready.” 

Bela felt her heart pound in her chest and she set her sandwich down and carefully moved over the bed to sit in Sam’s lap. “You might just be the sweetest man I’ve ever met, Sam Winchester. And you’re right, we should wait. I still have...I’m not ready.”

“I told you before, Bela, I’ll wait for you forever. Sex is not a requirement, I just want to be with you,” Sam wrapped his arms around her waist and Bela easily melted in the comfort of his hold. 

“I want to be with you too,” Bela whispered. They both sat together silently for a long moment, the air dense around them. Her breath hitched as Sam leaned in and finally pressed their lips together for the first time in months. Bela snaked one of her arms around Sam’s neck to hold him in place as they kissed, moaning quietly.

Sam pulled back then, grinning at Bela with a dopey look on his face, one that Bela had no choice but to return. 

-

  
They returned to the bunker three days later, and Sam was grateful to see that things were as he left them almost a week ago. 

“Cas! Dean! We’re back!” Sam called as they walked into the library. There was no reply which was a bit strange for three in the afternoon but Cas was prone to naps and Sam knew that Dean liked to lay with him, even if he wasn’t getting any sleep himself. 

Sam glanced at Bela and shrugged, though as soon as they stepped into the hallway he froze at the trail of clothes leading to their bedroom door. “For fuck’s sake,” Sam muttered as kicked the clothes out of his way to get to his own bedroom, Bela’s the next door down. “Uh, we kept the sheets and everything clean so it should all be ready for you.” 

“Thank you, Sam,” Bela said gratefully and opened her bedroom door. “I think I’ll likely just stay in here for a while, to avoid all of...that,” she gestured to the clothes on the floor. 

“Yeah, I don’t blame you. I’ll get you for dinner if you’re not out by then.” Bela stood on her toes to give him a chaste kiss before disappearing into her room. Sam went into his own room and fell back onto the bed, grinning to himself. He was happy, truly happy, for the first time in almost two years. 

Until he turned his head and saw a pair of Dean’s cartoon boxers flung over his dresser. 

-

Dean wouldn’t call himself an expert on angelic grace, but when the necklace filled with the remains of Cas’ grace started burning hot and turned yellow, he assumed that something was wrong. 

“Cas,” he called out, alarmed, “Get in here.” 

Within a few seconds, he heard Cas’ footsteps in the hallway. “What’s wrong?” he asked as he entered the kitchen, “Did you hurt yourself?”

“No, I… is your grace supposed to heat up and turn yellow?” Dean extended the necklace toward Cas, who grabbed it and examined it closely. 

“That’s… incredibly strange,” Cas replied, “If I was still an angel, I’d be able to discern the message it’s trying to convey, but as I’m not, the only thing I understand is that something bad has happened.” 

Dean panicked, “Do we… call someone? Is there some kind of procedure for this? What  _ could _ it mean?” 

Cas sighed and began listing cosmic events, “It could be the changing of a prophet, it could be some sort of attack on Heaven, it could be the conception of a nephilim,” He hesitated for a second, “I guess even God could be back, but I don’t know. We’d have to ask an angel.” 

Dean sighed, turning back to stir the pot he had been attending to on the stove, “Should we pray to Gabe, then?” 

Cas nodded, sitting down at the table, “I’ll do it, I seem to have better luck getting him down here than you do.” 

Within moments, Gabriel stood before Cas and Dean in the bunker’s kitchen, “I don’t suppose you invited me here for dinner,” he said dryly. 

Instead of answering verbally, Dean handed Gabriel the necklace, which was still hot and pulsating yellow. Gabriel took one brief glance at it and then looked toward Cas, “I guess you won’t know since you gave up your grace. It seems that my brother Michael is trying to… upstage me, we’ll say.” 

Cas tilted his head in curiosity, “What has he done?”

“He has fathered a nephilim,” Gabriel said with a sigh. Cas gasped, he and Gabriel shared an unspoken conversation through eye contact as Dean looked back and forth between them. After too many seconds of silence, Dean spoke up, “Is anyone going to tell me what the fuck that means?” 

“Nephilim are half-human, half-angel beings. They are extremely powerful and unpredictable, and creating them has been forbidden by Heaven’s authority for centuries,” Gabriel explained, “A half-archangel nephilim will be significantly more powerful than any we have seen before.” 

“This is a totally unprecedented situation,” Cas said to Dean, and then turned to Gabriel, “What is being done about it? I assume the host is being tracked down so that the situation can be dealt with?” 

Dean looked to Cas in surprise, glaring a bit, “The host? You mean the human woman who is pregnant? Does she even know she’s carrying a nephilim?”

“The only way to know is to find her,” replied Gabriel, “I need to get going. Heaven has been crazy ever since this news broke. We think Michael is going to make a move on Heaven and we need to be prepared.” 

With that, Gabriel was gone in a flap of wings. As dinnertime neared, Bela and Sam stumbled into the kitchen following their day of research at the library. They sat down at the table with Cas, who began to explain the situation to them as Dean set four beers down on the table. Sam picked up the grace necklace, eyeing the yellow light suspiciously. When Dean determined that his chili was ready, everybody filed through the kitchen to get a bowl. 

“I don’t mean to be rude, Cas,” Dean said, “But I’m not about to let the angels kill a human who doesn’t even know that she has a nephilim inside her.” 

Cas nodded, “I agree that we need to at least assess the situation before we do anything about it. But you do need to know that letting a nephilim out into the world has the potential to be extremely dangerous for the entire world, and we will need to monitor it closely.” 

-

Cas and Dean spent all of their free time tracking every possible sign of nephilim presence that they could find, while Sam and Bela set their sights on Crowley, deciding that, if they couldn’t trust the angels, they might as well trust the demons. 

Summoning Crowley was the easy part, as it turned out, but getting him to be willing to help proved to be a bit more difficult, “And why should  _ I  _ be helping  _ you _ ? Last I checked, I held up my end of our bargain, and as far as I’m concerned, our professional relationship has … fizzled out. I don’t care about the life of some random human woman. She’ll have the nephilim, the angels will take care of their little problem, and the balance will be restored. I don’t see how this has anything to do with me.” 

“Because we can’t just let her die, Crowley. You know how heartless the angels can be. I thought that we could count on you to be at least a little more human than they are.” Sam replied, fuming. 

Bela stepped forward, smiling at Crowley, “Crowley, darling, imagine how good you’ll look with a nephilim on your side. You’d always have a trick up your sleeve if Heaven got too full of itself…” 

At that, Crowley smiled, “You always were a smart one, love. I think I know someone you can call. All things weird and magical are her areas of expertise,” he pressed a business card into Bela’s hand. 

“Who is she,” Sam asked, “Some kind of demon?” 

“In the figurative sense, maybe,” Crowley said with a scoff, “But no. She’s my mother, a witch, as it happens.” 

Sam and Bela looked at each other briefly, “And she’ll be… amenable to help us?” Bela asked hopefully. 

Crowley smiled smugly, “I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out a way to persuade her, what with your talents and all,” and with that, he disappeared in a flash of red smoke, with only the acrid scent of sulfur to indicate that he was ever present. 

“Well,” Sam spoke up, “Looks like we have our work cut out for us, I guess.” 

Bela laughed, “Darling I’ve never met someone I couldn’t persuade. It just takes offering the appropriate payment.” 

-

Through a conversation with Rowena’s demon secretary, Bela had managed to secure a meeting with the witch, under the condition that no angels be present - a condition that the Winchesters and friends were perfectly fine with, not that they’d admit it to her. 

As requested, they awaited Rowena in an upscale restaurant in Denver - much fancier than anywhere Sam or Dean would’ve gone of their own accord. The dress code was far removed from anything within the comprehension of the Winchesters, and Cas was only just learning the basics of humanity, so it had been Bela’s job to dress them appropriately and coach them on the manners required for the wealthy elite. 

They sat awkwardly around a table, each of the men grunting when they - forgetting what Bela had taught them - let an elbow rest on the table, or didn’t maintain the correct posture, and received a sharp kick to the shin from Bela. 

Even without having met Rowena before, they knew it was her before she reached their table. Though she was short, she commanded much of the attention in the room. 

“Hello boys,” she said with a thick, Scottish lilt, “And you must be Bela, of course.” 

Bela extended her hand toward the woman with a smile, “It’s so nice to meet you, Miss…?”

“Oh, just call me Rowena, dear,” she replied, shaking Bela’s hand, and then doing the same with the Winchesters and Cas, “So I don’t suppose we’re here just for the calamari and prosecco?” Rowena took a seat next to Cas.

“We need your help in finding a nephilim,” Cas explained, “Your son told us that you might be willing to help us, for the right price.” 

Rowena flagged down a waiter and placed an order for several appetizers and a cocktail, “And why on Earth would you want to do that? Nephilim are dreadful creatures,” she said, shuddering for emphasis.

“It’s actually more about the woman who’s pregnant with the nephilim,” Sam explained, “The angels want to kill her so that the nephilim can’t be born but, the way we see it… she might not even know that her baby is nephilim, and we can’t in good conscience let them do that.” 

“How noble,” Rowena said, sipping her cocktail with raised eyebrows, “And you intend to, what? Raise a nephilim yourself? 

“We will deal with the consequences of the nephilim’s birth when it happens,” Dean said sternly, “We’re not going to let them murder another human without good reason.” 

The conversation paused as the waiter placed several plates of appetizers Dean hadn’t even heard of on the table. When they assured the waiter that they didn’t need a refill on drinks or anything else, he retreated with a smile and a ‘ _ let me know if I can get anything else for you’ _ . 

“What do you expect me to do about it,” asked Rowena, picking at her order of oysters, “I’m not getting myself in the middle of angel drama just to save your moral compass.”

Bela smiled, “Like we told your son, don’t you think that a nephilim would be a powerful ally to have? This nephilim is the  _ one _ thing that Heaven fears right now… and don’t you think that if anyone is capable of winning it over, it’s the Winchesters? I’m sure you’ve heard about how they’ve come in and saved the day more than once. It might interest you to know that they’ve earned the favor of many deities for their role in subverting the apocalypse.” 

Rowena’s eyes brightened, “Now you’re speaking my language, darling. Do we have an agreement, then? I help you find the nephilim and its host, and you agree that, in the event of a future conflict between the angels and the rest of us, you’ll choose the correct side?”

Dean smiled, “I agree that when we save the life of the nephilim and its  _ mother _ , we will be prepared to side with you against Heaven, yes.” 

-

As promised, Rowena showed up at the bunker when she had news, “Hello boys - and Bela, dear - I have good news and I have bad news.” 

“Well, what is it,” Dean asked gruffly. 

“I’ve found the mother of the nephilim. Her name is Kelly Kline, and she’s in Washington...” Rowena started, trailing off as she looked at the others. 

“And…?” Sam said, raising his eyebrows, “What’s the bad news?”

“Well… it appears that she’s been kidnapped by demons who also realize the power that they would possess as allies to the nephilim…” 

“You mean Crowley’s demons went out and did this?! After we talked to him about it?” Dean said, practically yelling. 

“No,” Rowena said calmly, “There are many factions of demons in Hell, and not all of them are satisfied with my son’s… leadership. We believe that the faction who kidnapped the nephilim did so because they intend to shift the balance in Hell. There is growing support for releasing Lucifer from his cage and… perhaps an archangel nephilim could do just that…”

“Fuck,” Dean said, balling his fists, “And the demons are keeping her in Washington? Do you know where?” 

Rowena laughed, “Of course, dear. I’m very powerful, you know.” 

“So, can you get us there?” Sam asked.

“I’m powerful, but not that powerful, Samuel,” Rowena said, “You’ll have to drive. I advise that you get on the road soon. Who knows how much longer that poor woman has.”

-

Armed with an address provided to them by Rowena - who was not willing to go with them on their trip across the country - they set out for Washington early the next morning. They took separate cars, knowing that they would likely be returning to the bunker with at least one additional person. 

“Dean,” Cas said suddenly from the passenger seat, about an hour into their drive, “What exactly is our plan here?”

Dean spared a glance at him before turning back to the road, “We’ll save the woman from the demons, and then we’ll figure it out from there.” 

“That’s not good enough, Dean. A nephilim is an incredibly unpredictable being.  _ If _ we manage to save her from the demons, then what? We can’t turn her loose, someone else will just kidnap her again.” 

“So, we’ll bring her back to the bunker,” Dean said, a bit exasperated, “What’s got you so worried? The way I see it, we’ve dealt with bigger issues than this.” 

Cas was quiet for a few moments, watching the scenery pass by, begging to see something other than endless fields. “It’s not that I doubt our abilities, it’s just that...even if the nephilim doesn’t kill us - which it very well might - this whole thing is going to bring us so much more into focus of both the angels and the demons. Just because Gabriel is an ally doesn’t mean that the rest of them are.” 

“Cas,” Dean said, reaching down to grab his hand, “I promise you that we’ll figure it out. It’ll be okay.” 

It was dinnertime by the time that they rolled into a small town outside Ogden, Utah to spend the night. Once they pulled into the motel parking lot - Sam and Bela close behind them - Dean turned to Cas, “Is there anything in particular that you’re hungry for?” 

Cas licked his lips and smirked, but Dean let out a laugh before he could speak, “Food, Cas. What do you want for dinner?”

Cas pondered for a moment, “I think I’d like… pizza,” he said with a decisive nod. 

“Then we’re getting pizza,” Dean said, stepping out of the car, “I’ll go book the rooms and then we can get dinner.” 

As Dean went into the motel, Sam and Bela exited the Bel Air and got into the back of the Impala. “Hey Cas,” Sam said, patting him on the shoulder, “How was the drive for you? My brother get too annoying?”

“Of course not,” Cas replied with a smile, “I could never tire of spending time with him.” 

The three of them chatted idly as they waited for Dean to return from booking the rooms so that they could go for dinner. He came back out with a smile on his face, and a set of keycards in one hand, and a “Best Local Restaurants” pamphlet in the other, “Everyone good with pizza for dinner?” 

There was a chorus of agreement, so Dean handed the pamphlet to Cas, and shifted the car into drive, “Find us a good one, baby.”

-

At Cas’ direction - which only got them slightly lost  _ once _ \- Dean pulled the Impala into the small parking lot of the pizza place. Cas and Dean subconsciously laced their fingers together when they stepped out of the car, Sam and Bela close behind them. 

Dean considered dropping Cas’ hand as they stepped inside - he knew what part of the world they were in - but the way that Cas was beaming at him prevented him from doing so. The restaurant was moderately crowded, but the waitress led them to a table within the span of a few moments. 

Dean did his best to ignore the way that the eyes of the other patrons followed him and Cas as they walked toward their table. Cas rambled on, extolling the virtues of a simple pepperoni pizza, largely unaware of social convention surrounding homosexuality. 

Much of dinner passed without incident. They had ordered two pizzas, which had been more than enough for the two couples, and Dean had relaxed enough that he had stopped thinking about whether or not the people around them were still watching. 

Having consumed one Coke and 3 refills, Cas made his way to the bathroom, still not used to how often humans needed to empty their bladder. He went in and did his business, but on the way out, a clean-cut man stood in front of him, a polite smile on his face. 

“Hello,” the man said, clearly expectant. 

“Hello,” Cas replied curiously, tilting his head in mild confusion. 

“I couldn’t help but notice that you came in here with a man, and after observing the two of you together, it seems that you’re… engaged in a romantic relationship with him.” The polite smile remained on his face, but from the look in his eyes, Cas could tell that his intentions were far from polite. 

“I don’t think my relationship is any of your business,” Cas replied stiffly, making an attempt to step around the man in the small hallway. 

The man stopped him, grabbing his forearm, “I’m afraid it is. Making those choices goes against the will of Our Father. I believe he led you here today so that you could be saved. I speak for Him when I say that this is not the path for you.” 

Cas let out a sharp laugh, face reddening, “You have no right to speak for God. You don’t know the first thing about my father.” 

The man began to ramble, “I would gladly chaperone you at our service this weekend. You just need a bit of guidance to get on the right path. It is your responsibility to make the right choices, but we are equipped to guide you on your journey to make that choice.” 

“Cas?” said a familiar voice, causing Cas to breathe perhaps the biggest sigh of relief that he’d ever had. “What’s going on? We’re ready to go.” 

“Hello Dean,” replied Cas with a smile. “I was just about to explain to this man that my  _ choice _ to lie with man is one that I will be  _ choosing _ to repeat for the rest of my life, and that I would appreciate if he stopped trying to  _ guide me _ on the  _ path to God _ .” 

Dean stepped closer now, eyeing the offending party. He took a deep breath, “Cas might’ve been too polite, so I’ll say it for him: get fucked, buddy. We’re not buying what you’re selling.” 

Dean reached forward and grabbed Cas’ hand, pulling him out of the hallway as the man got more aggressive with his attempts to lecture them on the morality of homosexuality. Ignoring the rest of his insults, they made their way out of the restaurant and back to the Impala, where Bela and Sam were waiting.

“What took you guys so long?” Sam asked, raising his eyebrows. 

Dean rolled his eyes, “Some Mormon had his magic underwear in a twist about Cas and I being together.”

“Thank you for showing up when you did,” Cas said to Dean as he sat down in the passenger seat, “I thought I might have to resort to violence in order to get out of there.” 

Dean let out a laugh, “Yeah, some of them can be pretty aggressive.”

“I see what you meant, now,” Cas said quietly, “And why it makes you nervous to be romantic with me in public.” 

Dean turned to face Cas fully, ignoring the way that both Sam and Bela stared at him, listening to the conversation, “We shouldn’t have to worry about that. It’s unfair that we have to worry about that, and I will do everything I can to make it so that stuff like this doesn’t happen to us again.” 

Dean smiled and patted Cas’ thigh, and with that, he shifted the car into gear, and pulled out of the parking lot. 

-

It was once again evening when they pulled into North Cove, Washington. Dean pulled off the road a ways away from the demon-infested cabin they were heading into, so that Sam and Bela could catch up. Once Sam and Bela arrived, they collectively decided that it would be better to walk the short distance to the cabin, so that they could maintain the element of surprise as much as possible. 

They gathered their weapons - the Colt, Ruby’s knife, Cas’ angel blade, and one that Cas stole before he became human - and Holy water, and trudged toward the house. In their time working with Crowley, Sam and Dean had both become incredibly proficient at how to exorcise a demon very rapidly, but brought the weapons in case exorcism wasn’t possible. 

They separated as they approached the cabin, Dean and Cas walked around in search of a back entrance, while Sam and Bela approached the front door. Looking through a window around the back of the small cabin, Dean and Cas saw a woman chained to a bed in the center of the room. 

“I take it that’s the mother,” Dean whispered to Cas. 

“I only count 5 demons, from what I can see,” Cas replied, “I’m surprised there aren’t more.” 

“Maybe they’re out on a run for… what do demons eat?” Dean joked, smiling expectantly at Cas. 

“This isn’t the time for jokes, Dean,” Cas muttered. 

A commotion drew their attention back to the window. They saw that Sam and Bela had made it through the front door, and were rapidly making their way through exorcisms with the tape recorder that they so often used - Dean’s idea, which he was a little bit proud of. Noting that the demons were distracted by Sam and Bela, Dean and Cas made their way through the back door. 

Dean ran over to help Sam and Bela, so Cas made his way over to the restrained woman, and began picking the locks of the cuffs that held her to the bed. 

“My name is Castiel,” he said, “I’m here to help you. Are you okay?” 

The woman eyed him nervously, as he freed her arms, “I’m Kelly…”

As Cas helped Kelly to her feet, a demon in a female vessel approached the two of them, a wry smile on her face, “Well, what do we have here? Where did you get an angel blade, handsome?” 

Cas stepped in front of Kelly, angel blade posed to attack the demon in front of him, “It’s mine,” he replied simply, not feeling the need to explain himself to a demon. Before the demon had a chance to respond, Dean was approaching them, having exorcised or dispatched the rest of the demons. When the demon noticed Dean, she smoked out with a smirk, leaving behind just a corpse and the distinct smell of sulfur in the air. Dean smiled at the woman, and wiped his blood hand off on his jacket before introducing himself. 

“Are you okay?” he asked her, concern in his eyes, “Is there anything we can do for you?” 

“I’m absolutely starving,” she said with a sigh. 

“We can fix that,” Dean replied, “But we need to get the hell out of this town before any of these bastards come back with reinforcements.” 

-

Dean pulled the Impala into the bunker of the garage and turned around to see Kelly asleep on Cas’ shoulder. “You wanna wake her?” he asked quietly. “I’ll head in and see if Sam or Bela have fixed her up a room.” Dean slid out of the car, making as little noise as possible. Over the past two days as they drove back to the bunker, Cas and Kelly had gotten quite close, Cas sitting in the back with her almost the entire drive, talking about the baby. 

Dean was pretty sure Cas was more than convinced that the baby was worth saving now. 

He headed into the library where Sam and Bela were sitting at a table, multiple books spread between them. “Hey, you guys get a room set up for Kelly?” he asked.

“Yes, it’s the one next to yours,” Bela said. “I figured she needed to be as close to one of us as possible in case something happens.” 

“And it had to be my room?” Dean glared as he sat down with them at the table. 

“I wasn’t going to be sacrificing my sex life for this,” Bela patted him on the arm with a fake pout. “I’m sure you and Cas will be fine. You find plenty of other places to fuck each other stupid.” 

“Can we please not talk about my brother doing...that?” Sam groaned, looking between the two.

“Sorry darling,” Bela said and leaned over, kissing him briefly. “I just can’t help but rile Dean up. He makes it so easy.” Sam rolled his eyes but they all quieted and looked over as Cas and Kelly walked into the room. 

  
“Hello,” Kelly said softly, Cas helping her sit down in one of the chairs. “What are you guys reading?” 

“We’re looking into nephilim, to see if we can find anything that will help after the baby is born,” Sam answered. “How are you feeling?” 

“Tired and sore,” Kelly laughed humorlessly. “I don’t know why. I’m not even out of my first trimester.”

“And you look at least twice that,” Bela said sympathetically. “I think we need to get you seen by someone who has actual experience in medicine and not a Winchester degree in backseat first aid.” 

“Hey!” Dean tried to protest but Bela ignored him.

“What about Karen? She worked on a maternity ward for a bit didn’t she?” Bela looked at Sam pointedly, and Sam was confused for a moment before jumping to grab his phone off the table. 

“Yes she did and yes, I’ll call her and see when she can make it down,” Sam said, flipping Dean off as he made a whipping motion with his hand. 

“Kelly, could you tell us about what happened?” Bela asked, moving seats to be closer to the other woman. “How did you end up in this predicament?” 

“Well, it started a few months ago. I went through a bad breakup so my friends took me out to have a rebound and almost immediately this guy came up to me and started hitting on me and eventually asked me back to his place,” Kelly sighed. “We had sex a few times and I went home.”

“And then what happened?” Dean prompted gently. 

“About a week later, I noticed I was being followed pretty much everywhere I went, so I was going to go to the police but before I could, I was kidnapped. It was the...the demons that you rescued me from.” 

“Did they do anything to you? Hurt you at all?” Dean asked. 

“No, all they did was keep me in that house. But...they said that they needed my baby. Meg, the one that was in the room when you found me, she said that my baby would be able to free their leader from his cage? Because my baby is the child of an archangel or something. Which is insane, right? I mean, it’s just a baby, how is it going to do anything?”

“Kelly,” Cas said carefully. “The demon, Meg, was telling the truth. Your child was fathered by the archangel Michael. You are carrying a nephilim, a half-angel, half-human child.” 

“What? No, no, you’re lying,” Kelly shook her head, laying a hand on her stomach. 

“I know you can feel the baby, how powerful they are,” Cas said, laying his hand over hers. “You know this baby is different.” Kelly just stared open-mouthed at Cas until she felt the baby kick under her hand. 

“That shouldn’t be possible, I’m only two months…” she trailed off, tears falling down her face. 

“Nephilim age and grow much faster than humans,” Cas explained gently. “I’m sorry, Kelly, that this happened to you.” 

“What did the demons want with my baby?” Kelly asked, voice going hard.

“Lucifer, another archangel, has been locked in a cage in Hell for millennia. They believed that your child would have the power to unlock the cage,” Cas said. “And the angels, they are also looking for you. In the eyes of Heaven, the child you are carrying is an abomination and is too powerful to live.” 

“But-”

“We’re not gonna let anything happen to you, or the kid,” Dean said gruffly. “This bunker is just about the safest place we could be.” Just then, Sam walked back in. 

“Karen said she’ll pack up what she needs and then she, Bobby, and Mom are gonna head down,” he relayed. 

“Karen, Bobby, and Mom are coming down?” Dean asked, surprised. 

“Well, Mom wants to check on us, Karen needs to check on Kelly, and Bobby well, he probably just wants to ask a bunch of questions,” Sam laughed a little and then looked at Kelly. “Sorry, we’ll do our best to make sure he doesn’t bombard you but he’s a scholar at heart, wants to know everything possible.” 

“It’s alright. It’s nice that nobody’s trying to use my baby to let the Devil out of his cage,” Kelly joked, easing the tension in the room. “Where’s the kitchen? I’m starving.” Bela jumped up to show her the way, waving off Sam, Dean, and Cas when they tried to do the same. 

“You three go make sure there are rooms ready for our guests,” she instructed before the two women disappeared down the hall. 

-

Mary, Bobby, and Karen arrived the next day around noon. After a long greeting and too many hugs, Karen sat next to Kelly, asking her all sorts of questions about her pregnancy as she did an exam of her stomach. 

“Well, if I didn’t know any better I would say you’re just about sixteen weeks,” Karen concluded. 

“So my pregnancy will only be half the time, then? Because I’m only eight weeks now,” Kelly sighed and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her bump. “I’m guessing you don’t know anything about birthing a nephilim baby?”

“Unfortunately no,” Karen said with a laugh. “I have had my fair share of strange births, so I don’t think we’ll be in any sort of trouble with this one.” Kelly nodded and smiled gratefully, having Karen around made her much more comfortable.”Now, I hate to ask this of you, but my husband has been dying to ask you some questions, but I can rightly tell him to fuck off if you want.” 

“No, no, it’s okay,” Kelly giggled and looked back at Bobby. “I can answer some questions. I don’t know how good my answers will be. Besides how fast it’s going everything else has been pretty normal.” Bobby just waved her off as he sat next to her. 

“Considering we’ve got next to nothing on nephilim pregnancies, anything you got’ll be a help,” Bobby said. Mary caught Karen’s eyes and they shared a smile before Mary ventured further into the bunker to see where her boys and Bela had gotten off too. 

She found Cas and Dean in the kitchen, Dean stirring something on the stove while Cas leaned against the counter. “Hey you two,” Mary said. “What are you cooking?” 

  
“Some stew. It’s getting pretty chilly out so I figured something warm would be nice,” Dean said. “How are you doing? Didn’t get a chance to ask earlier and we wanted to give Kelly some sense of privacy.” 

“I’m doing great. Bela’s help with the business means I’m busier than ever,” Mary said happily. 

“Yeah? And uh...how’s Thomas?” Dean asked with a shit eating grin. 

“Dean Winchester!” Mary gasped and slapped his arm. “Did your brother tell you?”

“Yeah, took him a few weeks but he spilled the beans,” Dean said. “So it’s just a casual thing then?” 

“Yes, Dean, it’s just casual, I’m not looking to date,” Mary said. “We both agreed to that, we’re both single and not looking for anything past what we have.” 

“Good. I’m happy you're happy,” Dean said and glanced over at Cas. “Sammy is too. I know you haven’t really seen him with Bela but they’re good together.” 

“I’m glad to hear it. But I knew already,” Mary smiled at them. “Bela and I talk just about every other day. Unlike some other people I know.” 

“I’m a little busy, Mom,” Dean huffed. “Saving the world and everything.” 

“And I’m sure that the world doesn’t need saving for the five minutes it would take to call me and let me know you’re alive and well,” Mary said and stepped closer, kissing Dean on the cheek. “I worry about you.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll call you more,” Dean said, brushing it off, though Mary met Cas’ eyes and he nodded, silently assuring her he would make Dean call more.

“So, how are you two doing with this whole baby thing? Because if Karen’s right, it’s only gonna be another three months before she pops,” Mary asked. 

“Still not sure,” Dean admitted. “Things are still a little crazy, but we’re figuring it out as we go.” 

“As always,” Cas chimed in, earning a smile from Mary and a glare from Dean. 

-

Mary, Bobby, and Karen could only stay a few days, as they all had various jobs they had to return to, but Karen left them very specific instructions for what Kelly would need over the coming months, along with a shopping list. 

“We have no idea what to expect from this pregnancy,” she had told Sam and Dean privately. “So we need to be prepared for absolutely anything, including a loss of life. Mother or child.” 

-

Cas was uncharacteristically quiet one morning, when Dean joined him in the bunker kitchen for their morning coffee. 

“What’s on your mind, sunshine?” Dean asked, kissing his cheek before pouring his own coffee, “Didn’t sleep well?” 

“I’ve been thinking… all of this with Kelly, her child… I have been thinking about the child that my vessel - Jimmy - left behind when he chose to host me in his body. I would like to find her. Now that I’m human, I realize that I owe her closure, at the very least.” 

Dean took a deep breath, “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea, Cas… if she’s gotten over the loss of her father… seeing you might bring back some shit that she doesn’t want to deal with.” 

Cas took a long drink of his coffee instead of answering for several moments. “I won’t interfere with her life,” he said finally, “But I do need to see how she’s doing.” 

“Okay,” Dean relented, “We’ll look her up after the baby is born. Right now, we’ve got too much on our plates.” 

Cas nodded, taking his now-empty coffee cup to the sink. Before they could talk about it further, Bela and Sam walked into the kitchen, and Kelly wasn’t far behind them. All three of them expected breakfast, and Dean wasn’t sure how he became the designated cook, but he set to work making pancakes and eggs anyway. 

After everybody had eaten their fill of breakfast, they discussed their plans for the day, “Are you guys still going to meet with Crowley?” Dean asked, looking at Sam and Bela. 

“Yeah,” Sam replied, “He wants to know about the demons that kidnapped Kelly. He’s trying to figure out exactly what their goals are.” 

Dean nodded, sparing Kelly a smile, “For being the King of Hell, he’s actually a pretty nice guy. You don’t have anything to worry about.” 

While Sam, Bela and Kelly left the bunker to meet up with Crowley, Cas and Dean got to work on redoing the angel warding on the bunker, knowing that the standard angel warding wouldn’t be enough to prevent Michael from tracking them down, if he set his mind to it. They chatted idly while they worked, largely focusing on subjects unrelated to angels, demons, or half-angel babies. Once they had finished the warding, they sat down in the kitchen for lunch. 

“You know,” Dean said, through a bite of his sandwich, “All of this demon and angel warding, and we don’t have the simplest protection mechanism.”

“What’s that,” Cas asked, furrowing his eyebrows. 

“A security system,” Dean replied, “Cameras, motion sensors, door alarms… stuff to protect us from everyone else, too. I should get on the phone with Jo or Charlie. I’m sure they could help us set something up.”

“That’s a good idea,” Cas said with a nod, “I think that would be wise, especially for when the baby comes.”

Dean broke out into a grin, “You already feel protective over it, don’t you? Babies’ll do that to you.” 

When their lunch was cleaned up, Dean went into their room to call Jo and Charlie, while Cas walked around the bunker, checking to ensure that they had applied as much warding as possible. Dean was right - his growing friendship with Kelly, and seeing her relationship with her unborn child had endeared him to the baby, nephilim or not. 

When Cas was positive that the warding was secure, he wandered to his and Dean’s bedroom, where Dean was talking and laughing on the phone. 

“Oh, Cas just walked in,” he said into the speaker. “ _ It’s Charlie” _ he mouthed, inaudible. 

“Hi Cas!” Charlie spoke, tinny through the speakerphone, “How are you doing?” 

The three of them chatted for a while, before eventually getting down to the topic at hand. They arranged for Charlie and Jo to drive up within the week to help them set up a security system. By the time they were done talking with Charlie, they heard the tell-tale signs of Sam, Bela and Kelly returning from their meeting. 

-

Over dinner, they discussed the events of the day. Dean relayed that Charlie and Jo would be coming up to help them install a security system, and Sam explained the details of their meeting with Crowley. 

“Crowley says that the demons involved will be fully punished. He also reassured us that he would be placing extra guards near the cage, so that if anyone even gets near it, we’ll know. Sounds like he doesn’t want Lucifer free any more than any of the rest of us do.”

“Presumably because that would pose a threat to his position,” Cas said bitterly, still not totally on board with their quasi-friendship with the King of Hell, or demons in general. 

Kelly looked around the table, “How easy is it to open this cage?” she asked, “Is it something we have to worry about?”

Sam shook his head, and began explaining the limited number of ways to get into Lucifer’s cage, “With the seals off the table, and the rings hidden in separate locations, using one half-archangel is a last ditch attempt that probably wouldn’t work anyway,” he finished with a smile, “We don’t have to worry about the cage being opened.” 

Once dinner was finished, Dean suggested that they watch a movie, “Why don’t you guys go in and get one started, and I’ll clean up the dishes?” 

Dean stacked up the dishes as everybody filed out of the kitchen and toward what Dean had taken to referring to as the ‘Dean Cave’, except for Cas, “You don’t want to watch a movie?” Dean asked, looking at Cas with slight concern. 

“Dean, when are you going to understand?” Cas said, smiling at him and shaking his head a bit.

Dean turned to face him fully, “What’s wrong?” 

“My favorite place to be is wherever you are,” Cas replied, looking at him sincerely, “If I can be by your side, I’m going to. Even if that’s drying the dishes you wash while everyone else starts the movie.” 

Dean coughed, pretending that he wasn’t a bit choked up at that. It wasn’t that he had never felt loved before - his mom, his brother, his chosen family had all shown him nearly incomprehensible, unconditional amounts of love. But the way that Cas loved him was so different, and so powerful that it was overwhelming at times. 

Dean set down the dish he’d been working for, and cradled Cas’ face in his hands - still wet and soapy - and kissed him, “I love you Cas, I don’t know how I ever deserved you, but I love you.” 

They stood shoulder to shoulder for several minutes, washing and drying dishes in silence, enjoying each other’s company more than they would have enjoyed the beginning of any movie. 

-

Despite only having known them a short time, Charlie gave everyone a crushing hug when she walked through the doors of the bunker, “Sorry Jo couldn’t make it,” Charlie said with a sad smile, “She got caught up helping Bobby on a hunt, but she wanted me to tell you that she misses you all very much.” 

“Well, it’s so good to see you, Charlie,” Sam said with a smile, “How’s Jo doing?” 

Charlie blushed, almost imperceptibly, “She’s been doing well. She’s been living with me in Sioux Falls for a few months now, I think she’s happy…” 

Dean laughed good-naturedly, “It’s gotta be doing her some good to have some space from Ellen. I love the woman like a second mother, but...she can be a lot to handle.” 

Charlie raised her eyebrows and nodded knowingly, but didn’t comment further. 

“So,” Sam spoke up, “We’re hoping you’ll be able to help us set up some kind of security system. None of us are very tech-savvy, but we’re hoping to just get a few cameras set up so that we can monitor if someone is casing us or trying to break in.” 

Charlie nodded, “That should be easy enough. Do you have any kind of computer setup?” 

Sam led Charlie to the computer room, Cas and Dean trailing just behind them. Sam explained the computer setup to the best of his ability, but his lack of knowledge was obvious. Charlie got onto her hands and knees, crawling around the electronics to see what she could make of it all. 

“This stuff is so cool,” Charlie said in awe, “Absolutely ancient, but I think I can work with it.” 

Sam nodded, “Do you need anything? Do you want us to get out of your way? Just let us know how we can help.” 

Charlie smiled, “I wouldn’t say no if you guys wanted to whip up something for dinner while I got to work in here…” 

Cas and Dean went into the kitchen and got dinner started, while Sam wandered off to find Bela. 

“Are Charlie and Jo together?” Cas asked, peeling a carrot for their soup. 

Dean laughed, “Yes, but I don’t think we’re supposed to know they’re dating.” 

“Why would… what’s the point of that?” Cas asked, brows furrowed. 

“Human sexuality is complicated, Cas,” replied Dean, “I don’t know, but I don’t think Jo has ever told Ellen that she likes girls. Ellen won’t care, but, coming out is a really personal and difficult experience, and I don’t know if Jo is ready for that. It’s something that only she can decide for herself when she’s ready.” 

Cas nodded, returning to cutting up carrots, “It just seemed like they were very flirtatious when we were back in Sioux Falls.”

Dean stirred the garlic and onions in the pot on the stove, “They were. I think Ellen knows, I just don’t think Jo has told her. Does that make sense?” 

Cas sighed, “I suppose it does. Being a human is unbelievably complex.” 

By the time that the soup was ready, Charlie strolled into the kitchen, “I’ve got everything set up, we just need to go buy some security cameras and put them where you want them, and you’ll be good to go.” 

Everyone sat down for dinner, crowding around the small table with bowls of soup in front of them. Dean set five beers on the table, and a glass of water for Kelly, and everyone was set. They chatted idly, allowing Charlie and Kelly to get to know each other a bit better. Charlie sat with rapt attention, eyes wide as Kelly’s circumstances were explained to her. 

“You all live such crazy lives,” she said, astonished, “I only get the half of it from Jo. I can’t imagine being raised like that. It must have been insane to grow up and know that the monsters under your bed were real.” 

“It was hard not to, in our case,” Dean replied, taking a swig of his beer, “But I figure, we save the world a few times and it’s worth it, I guess. Plus, I wouldn’t have my angel if my life leading up to him hadn’t been a chaotic nightmare.” 

He reached over, lacing his fingers with Cas’, who laid his head on Dean’s shoulder in turn. 

“Loving you has been the highlight of my existence as well,” Cas said to Dean.

-

A month into installing their new security system, it finally proved useful. The alarm went off around the bunker and Dean hurried to the computer room, Sam and Cas meeting him there. 

Sam shut the alarm off as Dean began flipping through the security footage. They finally found the culprit on one of the outside cameras. It was two young women trying to break in through one of the windows of the garage. 

“They...they look like kids,” Sam said as they watched the live footage. 

“Doesn’t mean they’re not some kind of monster,” Dean said. “Grab your gun and let’s go.” All three men grabbed their weapons and were heading upstairs to the bunker entrance to give themselves a better chance of getting the jump on the two...things. 

Dean silently directed them as they stepped outside and once they were around the corner, Dean moved around first, aiming his gun at the blonde one. “Hands up and turn around,” he ordered. The two girls froze and the one Sam was aiming at complied but the other did not. “I said turn around.” 

The girl huffed and finally turned, glaring at Dean but when she caught sight of Cas, her arms dropped to her sides. 

“Dad?” 

“What?” Dean turned to look at Cas who had lowered his gun and was staring at the girl. “What do you mean dad?” 

“Dean,” Cas said, swallowing heavily. “This is Claire Novak. Jimmy’s daughter.” 

“Oh shit,” Dean muttered, dropping his gun, motioning for Sam to do the same. “Well, uh, this is a bit awkward.” 

“Dad,” Claire said again, taking a step forward. 

“Claire, I am not your father. My name is Castiel, and I was an angel of the Lord,” Cas explained sadly. “Your father, Jimmy, agreed to be my vessel over a year ago and he was killed not long after that. I’m very sorry, Claire, but his soul is in Heaven now.” 

“What?” Claire was shaking where she stood. “What the fuck do you mean you’re an angel? That’s...you’re my dad. We’ve been tracking you for so long and we finally found you.” 

“Claire, I am truly sorry but I am not Jimmy Novak. He has not inhabited this body in a year,” Castiel sighed. “I…” 

“No, no, that’s not...you’re just fucked up, right? We just need to get you to a doctor or something and you’ll remember,” Claire’s voice broke just as the other girl rushed over to wrap her in her arms. 

“Claire,” the girl whispered. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not! I finally found my dad and he’s-” Claire collapsed against the other girl with a sob. Sam and Dean just looked at each other in shock, completely unsure of what to do. Cas was conflicted, wanting to do whatever to make Claire feel better but knowing he was the cause of hurt. 

“Hello love,” Bela spoke, walking around the three men to get to Claire. “I know that things are very scary right now, and these three are not making it any easier, but I bet you’ll feel better as soon you have some tea and a biscuit. And what’s your name, darling?” she asked the other girl. 

“Kaia, I’m Claire’s...friend,” she said, noticeably hesitating. 

“Well, Kaia, my name is Bela. Can you help me get Claire inside? She’s likely in shock and she needs to be warm and comfortable.” Kaia nodded and walked with Claire and Bela inside the bunker, Sam, Dean, and Cas following sheepishly. Once Claire had been settled in one of the chairs in the library, and Kaia next to her holding her hand, Bela turned to the three men, glaring. 

“What is the matter with you three?” She asked harshly. “Going out there, after two teenaged girls, with guns raised? And what the fuck was that, Cas? Just telling her your whole fucking life story?”

“Actually, I’m many millennia…” Cas trailed off at the look Bela shot him. 

“Go put on the kettle,” she ordered him. “And you two, just sit down and shut up.” It took a while longer, but with the tea and a few plain ginger biscuits to settle her stomach, Claire was finally able to function again. 

“What...I’m just so confused,” she said, looking between the four adults. “My dad just upped and disappeared one day and now he’s an angel?” 

“Darling, this is a very long story that we will tell you,” Bela said, taking Claire’s hand. “But the short version is yes, your father consented to be possessed by an angel and that is why he left.” 

“He still left, doesn’t matter why,” Claire muttered, looking at Castiel once again. “You’re really not my dad?” 

“No, Claire, I am not,” Cas said, looking down. As a human, with more emotions than he ever possessed as an angel, he felt remorse for what he had done to Claire. “I am-”

“Shut up,” Claire said, voice wavering. “I don’t care what you have to say. You’re the reason my parents are dead.” 

-

A few days after Bela had convinced the girls to stay - at least until they had somewhere reliable and safe to go - Claire stood in the library in the middle of the night, perusing the shelves and cursing the Winchesters and friends for not filling it with better books. Kaia had fallen asleep, leaving Claire alone to her thoughts, and that just wasn’t going to do, not after the past few days she’d had. She jumped, hitting her head on one of the shelves when she heard footsteps behind her.

“Oh, I didn’t realize anyone else was awake,” Kelly said, “I didn’t mean to startle you.” 

Claire straightened up, rubbing the back of her head, “Sorry. Sleeping here is… impossible, especially with,” she sighed, “Everything that’s happened the last few days.” 

Kelly nodded sympathetically, sitting down at one of the tables in the library, “I have a hard time sleeping here too,” she said, gesturing at her stomach, “Not only does being pregnant mess with my sleep schedule, but… being around the Winchesters and this crazy world they live in… it’s a lot to take in, isn’t it?” 

Claire nodded, heaving a sigh as she sat down, “I know I should be happy to know that my dad didn’t abandon us because he didn’t love me anymore, or whatever, but… seeing his face, knowing that that  _ thing _ stole him from me and ruined my life… it’s just too much. You know, my mom  _ killed _ herself after my dad left. I spent my senior year of high school bouncing between foster homes because Castiel took everything from me.”

“Oh, honey,” Kelly said, grabbing one of her hands, “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. You’ve already experienced more pain in suffering than many people do in their entire lives.”

Claire sniffled, “Yeah, well, didn’t have much of a choice. And what about your kid? Their dad fucked off to god knows where too?” 

Kelly let out a laugh, “Well, you could say that. My baby’s father is the archangel Michael, who tricked me into carrying his child… it’s a very long story and I’m not sure you’ll want to hear it.” 

“No, please,” Claire said, wide-eyed, “I will take absolutely anything that distracts me from my hellish life.” 

Kelly laughed again and nodded, launching into the story of how she had been stalked by angels and then kidnapped by demons, all in the name of using her unborn child as some sort of cosmic weapon. Despite her circumstances, Claire found herself laughing and nodding along to Kelly’s story at the appropriate parts, and when she finally felt ready to go back to bed, she found herself calmer - and almost happier - than she had been the last few days. 

-

Though they knew that they couldn’t trust all of the angels, Sam, Dean and Cas did trust Gabriel to an extent, and felt that he should be kept in the loop about the nephilim, so that if a problem did arise, he would be available to help, so they took it upon themselves to pray to him once again. 

Due to the increased warding on the bunker, they set out to pray to him in the field near the bunker, so that he would be able to reach them. As usual, Cas was the one who prayed to him, going silent for just a few moments as the rest of them shivered against the winter cold. 

“What are you dipshits doing?” Gabriel asked, startling them all, though they had known he’d be coming. 

“Hello, Gabriel,” Cas said, “We thought you might want to know that we have found the woman who is pregnant with the nephilim.” 

Sam and Dean went on to explain the situation from the beginning, their involvement with Crowley and Rowena, the fact that some demons had kidnapped Kelly with the intention of opening the cage, and that she now resided with them in the bunker - under heavy protection. 

“You really think you’ll be able to control this thing, little brother?” Gabriel asked, eyebrow cocked. 

“You, of all people, should know what the Winchesters are capable of,” Cas said, narrowing his eyes, “We will take care of it.” 

“You’re a Winchester now?” Gabriel said with a laugh, jumping at the opportunity to make fun of Cas, who he had always thought to be a touch too serious. 

Cas spluttered, “I didn’t mean…” he turned beet-red, “I just meant that I would help the Winchesters deal with any issues they may face.” 

Taking pity on him, Gabriel dropped the subject, “Will you summon me if Michael tracks you down? I hardly imagine that this will be the last stunt that he pulls. He’s probably either planning to take your nephilim, or create another as we speak…” 

As the Winchesters - and Cas - nodded, Gabriel waved, and within seconds, was gone once again. 

-

Claire checked the clock on her bedside table again, sighing when she saw that it was just past two in the morning - only ten minutes past when she last checked. She got out of bed, making sure Kaia stayed asleep, and padded down the hall to the kitchen, only to freeze in the doorway at the site that greeted her: 

Dean and her fath- and Castiel making out against the counter, one of Dean’s hands shoved down Castiel’s pajama pants. 

“What the fuck?” Dean and Castiel jumped apart, both men panting heavily. “What the fuck?” 

“Claire,” Castiel started and Claire shook her head and held her hand up. Castiel stayed silent as Claire took a moment to process what she had just seen. 

“You two are...what? Fuck buddies?” Claire asked, chest heaving as she tried to steady her breathing and heart rate. 

“No, kid,” Dean shook his head. “We’re together. In love.” Claire just stared at them wide-eyed for a very long moment before bursting into hysterical, almost crazed, laughter. She could feel Dean and Castiel watching her but she couldn’t give a single shit. 

“Oh my god. Oh my fucking god, what the fuck, what the literal fuck is my life?” Claire was mostly speaking to herself and finally she just sat down where she was. “I was never going to come out to them. I figured I like both, I’ll probably end up with a guy anyway and I won’t have to do it. But now…” Claire trailed off and looked up at Castiel. 

“Claire,” he said hesitantly, and Claire knew she wasn’t really making sense. 

“He was so fucking homophobic. He would say it all the time, that ‘their kind are ruining the sanctity of marriage’ and that it was unnatural and wrong and they were going to Hell! “ Claire fully laid down on the floor and just shook her head. “He got possessed by a gay angel.” 

“Yeah, kid, he did,” Dean agreed. “He got possessed by a gay angel.” 

“And now, that gay angel is using his body to have gay sex with another gay man.”

“Actually, I’m bi,” Dean said with a shrug. 

“Same,” Claire muttered, staring up at the ceiling. “My homophobic father got possessed by a gay angel who has gay sex with a bisexual man.” 

“Not just sex kid, we’re in love,” Dean corrected. Claire finally looked over at him. 

“I think I need to go to bed,” with that, she pushed herself off the floor and walked down the hall in a daze and collapsed in bed next to Kaia. “What the fuck?” 

-

Bela was already laying in bed by the time Sam joined her, showered and dressed in just a pair of pajama pants. “Tired, love?” Bela asked as he dropped onto the mattress. 

“There’s just so much going on,” Sam groaned. “With Kelly and Claire and Kaia, it’s just...a lot.” 

“And you’re not even that involved with anything. Poor Cas, he and Kelly are close and Claire is his vessel’s daughter...he’s having quite a rough go of it,” Bela rolled onto her side and placed her palm on Sam’s bare stomach. “But perhaps I could help you relax.” 

“You’re usually pretty good at that,” Sam grinned and grabbed Bela’s waist, easily hauling her over to be on his lap. Bela was only wearing one of his shirts, one side slipping off her shoulder and pooling around her hips, covering the fine silk panties she had on. 

“I’m the best at it,” Bela grinned. “Did you have something in mind? What will help you relax the most?” she ground down against his growing length as she spoke. 

“Riding my face,” Sam said which made Bela pause. 

“Are you - are you sure?” She asked, sitting up to look down at Sam. 

“I’m sure,” Sam rubbed his hands over Bela’s thighs, moving them up and up until they were on her hips and fidgeting with the waistband of her panties. “Now, get up here.” Bela gasped a little and moved up until she was kneeling over Sam’s head and holding onto the headboard for support. 

“C’mon Winchester,” she goaded him, “or are you all bark and no bite?” Sam wrapped his hands around her thighs - large enough to span almost the entire length - and yanked her down so that was sitting on his face. Her panties were still on which somehow made it hotter, feeling Sam lick her through the already soaked fabric. 

Sam reached over with two fingers of his right hand and hooked them in the crotch of her panties to pull them to the side. “Bela,” he said breathlessly. “I told you to ride my face. So ride it.” Bela huffed and adjusted her position so that she was lower, Sam’s tongue on her folds and his nose brushing her clit with the right angle, and began to grind against Sam’s face. She clutched the headboard tightly in her hands, using the leverage to fuck herself on Sam’s tongue as she moved her hips. 

“Fuck, tilt your head back,” she ordered, panting heavily. Sam did as he was told and Bela moaned loudly as she was able to rub against him just right to reach her orgasm in minutes. Sam held her still above him as she worked through her climax, pulling away with one final lick. 

Before Bela could offer to blow Sam, he had maneuvered them so that she was on her back with her head at the foot of the bed and he was hovering over her. “Going to fuck me, Sam?” Bela asked breathlessly, smirking up at him. Sam shoved their mouths together in a messy kiss, reaching between them to shove his pants down just enough to pull his cock out. Bela pushed his hand out of the way to stroke him, spreading her legs wide enough for him to fit between them. 

“If you don’t do something with your panties, I’m going to rip them,” Sam told her, hips jerking forward into her grip as she squeezed just how he liked.    
  


“So rip them, I’ll make you buy me new ones,” Bela said, biting her lip as Sam reached between them and tore her underwear at the seam. Bela would never admit to Sam how hot that made her. 

Sam smacked her hand away in order to line up, pushing just the head of his cock inside her, giving her a short moment to adjust to his girth. “Move!” She finally demanded, wrapping her legs around his hips to urge him forward. Sam sank into her completely and they both moaned, voices mixing together, better than any song Bela had ever heard. 

Sam began fucking her in earnest, one hand planted firmly on the bed to keep himself in place and the other on Bela’s waist to keep her in place. Bela rolled her hips up to meet Sam’s, panting and exhausted from her first orgasm. “Sam…” she groaned, dropping her head back to expose her neck. Sam immediately latched on, biting into her flesh as he pounded into her. 

“Gonna come for me?” Sam spoke against her neck, words vibrating through her skin. 

“Yes, yes, Sam,” Bela whined as he reached between them once more and with one, two, three swipes at her clit she was coming for the second time, clenching around his cock until Sam spilled inside her. 

Bela kept herself wrapped around Sam until both their heart beats and breathing had settled into an even rhythm, and even then she only loosened her grip enough to drop to the mattress. 

“Are you relaxed then?” Bela asked, Sam answering with a loud laugh. 

-

Though Claire still felt weird when she looked at Castiel, she had grown accustomed to staying in the bunker after a few weeks. 

“It’s almost a relief,” Claire whispered to Kaia, in the sanctuary of their shared bedroom, “I didn’t know where we were going to end up now that I’ve aged out of the system.” 

“We would’ve made it work,” replied Kaia, playing with Claire’s fingers, “We always do. But… I do kinda like it here. I know it’s weird with… Castiel, but… god it’s better than the last place you stayed.”

“I really like Kelly,” Claire mused, “I’m excited to see the baby. She’s going to be such a good mother.” 

“We should get up,” Kaia said finally, “I’m hungry.” 

The two girls dressed quickly and made their way into the kitchen, surprised to see Bela sitting there by herself, eating a piece of toast while she read a book. 

“Where’s everyone else?” Claire asked, looking around. 

“Kelly’s still in bed,” Bela replied, taking a bite of her toast before finishing, “And the boys are on a hunt. Vampires in Missouri, they should be back tonight, tomorrow afternoon at the latest.” 

Claire nodded, and turned to Kaia, “What are you hungry for?” 

Kaia laughed, “I’m not trusting your cooking ever again, I’ll take some cereal.” 

Claire shoved her playfully, but went to pour two bowls of cereal as Kaia sat down at the table with Bela. 

“So, what do you do for fun around here anyway?” Kaia aked, turning to Bela. 

Bela’s eyes lit up as she imagined the possibilities, “Have either of you ever shot a gun?” When they shook their heads, she smiled brightly, “When you’re done with breakfast, we’ll head to the shooting range. Don’t tell the boys, though.” 

Bela, Claire and Kaia headed to the bunker’s shooting range once their breakfast dishes had been dealt with. Bela selected a few handguns from the bunker’s gun storage and gave the girls basic instructions on how to use them. Once she was fairly confident that they could shoot at the targets without hurting themselves or anyone else, she gave each of the girls a gun. 

Though neither of them perfected the art of shooting accurately, they enjoyed themselves thoroughly. By the time they were tired of it, Cas and the Winchesters were still on their hunt, and Kelly was still resting in bed. 

“Any other ideas for how to spend the rest of the day?” Claire asked Bela hopefully. 

Bela pondered for a moment, “Well… I could teach you how to pick a lock…” 

By the time that Sam, Dean and Cas did return - late that night - Claire and Kaia were well on their way to following in Bela’s career path. They thanked Bela, sparing a small wave to the three men, as they made their way back to their bedroom, fairly satisfied with the way that their day had gone. For the first time in a very long time, they both felt like maybe,  _ maybe _ they were somewhere that they belonged. 

-

“Cas!” Kelly called from the kitchen, panicked and scared. Cas shot up from his chair, running in to find Kelly bent over with one hand on the counter and the other on her stomach. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, helping her stand up straight. 

“I’m in labor. The baby’s coming.” Cas froze for just a moment, mind suddenly void of every plan they had. “Cas!” 

“We have to get you down to the infirmary,” Cas said, walking with Kelly down the hall to the infirmary. He helped her lie down on the bed they had set up for this specifically, and then assured he would be right back. 

“Karen!” Cas called as he ran through the bunker. She had come back the week before, after Dean had called Mary in a panic over the insecurity about helping Kelly give birth. 

“Cas?” Karen stepped out of her room, face determined and stoic. “Is it time?” Cas just nodded and then kept going to tell the rest of the inhabitants of the bunker what was going on. They all gathered outside the doors to the infirmary, waiting restlessly. 

It didn’t take long, only a few hours at most, before Kelly’s screams ceased and Karen opened the door, face solemn. “She didn’t make it,” she said quietly. Dean grabbed Cas’ hand and held it tight, while Claire let out a muffled sob, burying her face in her knees. “But...the nephilim did.” 

Cas and Dean looked at each other and Dean nodded, leading Cas into the infirmary. Thankfully, Karen had covered Kelly’s body with a sheet, but the bassinet next to the bed was empty. 

“Wh-” Cas cut Dean off with a nudge and gestured to the opposite wall where there was a man, around twenty years old, standing naked and staring at them with gold, glowing eyes. He looked directly at Cas and his lips twitched up into a small smile. 

“Father.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, follow me on tumblr @hellerjesuschrist, and Emily @hazloveshisboo


	7. Chapter 7

Dean and Cas stared at the young man, who had yet to take his eyes off Castiel. “Jack?” Cas said tentatively, using the name that Kelly had picked out. 

“Yes,” the man said. “I am Jack. You are my father.”

“Do you know who I am?” Dean asked, taking a single step forward. Jack regarded him seriously and then looked at Cas. 

“You are important to my father. You carry his grace,” Jack said simply. 

“Do you know who I am, Jack?” Cas asked. “Besides being your... father?” 

“You are Castiel. You are an angel of the Lord, or you were,” Jack said, looking at Dean again, eyes dropping to his chest where Cas’ grace lay. “You are my father.” 

“Jack…” Dean started, looking at the Nephilim warily. “You were born less than five minutes ago. How are you...like that?” 

“It was not safe for me to remain an infant,” Jack explained, walking forward to stand only a few feet away from Cas and Dean. “Where is my mother?” 

“Jack,” Cas swallowed heavily and looked over to where Kelly’s body lay under the sheet. “She didn’t survive.” Jack walked over to the bed and stood by the side, carefully reaching up to grab her hand over the sheet. 

“She is at peace. Her soul is in Heaven now,” Jack said decisively and trained his eyes back on Cas. “Why am I unsafe?” 

“You don’t know why you’re not safe?” Dean asked, furrowing his brows. Jack’s head snapped to look at him. 

“What is your name?” 

“Dean,” he said. “And it’s because Michael, your father - your biological father, wants to use you to kill Gabriel and take over Heaven.” Jack frowned and tilted his head - somehow looking exactly like Cas. 

“Why would he want that?” Cas shook his head at Dean and walked forward, carefully placing his hands on Jack’s shoulders. 

“That’s not something we need to worry about at this moment. We need to get you into some clothes and get you some food,” he said with a tight smile. “And there are some more people that you will need to meet.” 

“That sounds...nice,” Jack said and looked at Cas with wide eyes. 

“Great,” Dean muttered. “I’ll go get him some clothes, and tell everyone what’s going on.” Cas smiled gratefully and turned his attention back to Jack. Dean pushed the door open with a heavy sigh, grateful that only Sam had remained, likely wanting to give them privacy. 

“How is the baby?” Sam asked. “I heard you talking?” 

“It’s ‘cause the baby ain’t a baby,” Dean said. “He uh, he knew that he wasn’t safe, so he aged himself up? Looks like he’s about twenty.” Sam made a noise of confusion but Dean just shrugged. “I gotta get the kid some clothes.” He pushed past him to head to his and Cas’ room, gathering a pair of sweatpants, a pair of boxers, and one of his old, threadbare band shirts. 

Dean paused before leaving the room, taking a minute to himself. He had been prepared for a baby not for...this. Not for a fully grown person who can walk and talk right out of the womb. He had no clue what to do about any of this. 

He took a deep breath and headed back down the hallway to the infirmary. “Dean?” Cas called and Dean had no choice but to enter, holding the clothes out to Jack. 

“For you,” he said, watching as Cas helped him get dressed. “What should I make him to eat?” 

“Oh, something simple. Perhaps a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?” Cas suggested, sounding unsure. 

“I don’t know what that is but it sounds good,” Jack said once he was finished getting dressed, the clothes baggy on him but at least they covered him up. 

“C’mon then, I’ll make you a PB and J,” Dean agreed, leading the two of them to the kitchen. Luckily, no one else was in there, leaving the space empty save for the three of them. Cas had Jack sit down at the table as Dean prepared the sandwich, asking him easy questions about what he remembered and what he knew about his own conception and birth. 

“Orders up,” Dean said as he slid the plate with the sandwich on it across the table to Jack. He picked it up hesitantly and examined it thoroughly before taking a bite, a grin lighting up his face. 

“This is delicious!” 

-

Amid the chaos that followed Kelly’s death and the birth of the child, Claire had needed fresh air, so she ran outside the bunker - Kaia close behind her. Claire was sobbing before she hit the grass-covered ground just outside the bunker. 

“It’s so stupid, I know it’s fucking stupid,” she said, not looking up at Kaia, but knowing that she was listening regardless. 

Kaia knelt beside her, ignoring the brief flare of annoyance she felt at the wet grass on her knees, “It’s not stupid. You’ve lost so much of your life in such a short time. It makes sense that it would hit you at some point.” 

Claire took a shaky breath, “It just felt like - with Kelly around - that we finally belonged somewhere, you know?”

Kaia nodded, pulling Claire into her arms, “We still belong here. They still want us here - God, they’re going to want us here even more with a baby around. Plus, we can’t leave this baby to grow up with just the Winchesters… even Bela isn’t powerful enough to keep it from turning into a full-blown Winchester without us.” 

Claire let out a wet laugh, “I am excited to meet the baby. I just… Kelly almost felt like a mother to me and I didn’t know how much I needed that.” 

Their conversation was interrupted by Cas, who had apparently also needed a break in the fresh air, “Oh, I didn’t realize the two of you were out here. I’ll just…” he trailed off awkwardly, knowing that Claire still felt uncomfortable around him. 

“Wait,” Claire said, wiping at her face with the back of her hand and standing up, “I know how close you were with Kelly.” 

Cas nodded, eyes rimmed with red as he smiled sadly at them. He yelped in surprise when Claire surged forward and hugged him. He hesitated for a moment before he allowed himself to melt into the embrace, hugging her back tightly. She gave him a small smile when she pulled away. 

Cas hesitated for a second, “Do you want to… meet Jack?” Claire and Kaia looked at each other for a moment and then turned back to Cas, nodding. 

“I should prepare you, though,” Cas said, “He’s not actually a baby. After his birth he was able to age himself up. Dean would guess that he’s physically in his twenties, but we haven’t been able to figure out his mental age quite yet. He’s able to talk, but there are many things he doesn’t know. It’ll be an interesting experience to observe him.” 

“What the fuck,” Claire said with a wet laugh, grabbing for Kaia’s hand, “Well, let’s go meet him, then.” 

-

Jack was still sitting in the kitchen when Claire and Kaia returned to the bunker with Cas. 

“Hello Father,” Jack said, a wide smile spreading across his face. Claire’s eyes flicked to Cas for a brief, nearly-imperceptible second, but she chose not to comment. 

“Hello Jack,” Cas replied, returning his smile, “I want you to meet Claire and Kaia. They live here too.” 

“I remember them,” Jack replied, eyes lighting up as he turned to the two girls, “You spent a lot of time with my mom.” 

Claire faltered, so Kaia spoke up, “We did. I’m so sorry that you weren’t able to meet her. She was a wonderful person. We really enjoyed getting to know her.” Claire nodded in agreement, still not trusting herself to be able to talk about Kelly’s death so soon. 

Jack smiled, “I’ll see her again in Heaven. I wish she was here on Earth with us, but it brings me comfort to know that she’s safe up there,” He turned to face Claire, specifically, “I understand that Castiel inhabits the body of your father. I suppose that makes us something like siblings.” 

“Jack,” Cas said, almost a warning, but Claire cut him off. 

“It’s okay,” Claire said, turning to face Jack with a smile, “I suppose it does. We’ve all been so anxious to meet you.”

Jack gestured toward the other chairs at the table, “I would love to get to know you better.” 

As Claire and Kaia sat at the table across from him, Cas gestured towards the hallway, “I’m going to go see where Dean went. I will be back in a few minutes.” 

Cas made his way down the hallway, smiling as he heard Jack excitedly interrogate Claire and Kaia about the intricacies of life as a human. Dean was in their bedroom, rifling through his closet when Cas found him. 

“Hey angel,” Dean said with a smile, “How’s the kid?” 

“He’s alright,” Cas replied as he sat down on the bed, “Claire and Kaia are sitting with him now. What are you up to?” 

Dean nodded toward a pile of clothes on the chair next to him, “I’m trying to see if I have any clothes that’ll fit him. We can also go into town sometime this week to get more supplies for him. Do you think he sleeps? We can set up a room for him either way.” 

Cas paused for a moment, thinking, “I’m not sure if he’ll need to sleep or not. Since he’s half-human, I imagine he will probably need some sleep, though not as much as we need.” 

Dean worked in silence for a few moments, occasionally placing a t-shirt or pair of pants that he didn’t mind parting with on the chair beside him, before he addressed the elephant in the room, “So… ‘Father’, huh?”

“It’s… certainly …” Cas searched for the words, “I imagine it is because of the relationship that Kelly and I formed while he was in the womb. He was able to sense that. He told Claire and Kaia something similar. He also… insinuated to Claire that he was essentially her brother because of…” he trailed off. 

Dean’s eyes widened, “Because of Jimmy? Oh god - is she okay?” 

Cas nodded, “She responded really well, actually. I tried to cut him off but she actually agreed with him. I know that she’s aware that I didn’t actually father Jack, but, I think she understood what he meant.” 

Dean swallowed and sat down on the bed next to Cas, “Poor kid. I know it’s not your fault -” he said quickly, “But, she’s been through some shit. She and Kaia both have.” 

“I wish I could make it up to her,” Cas said, finally succumbing to the weight of the day and letting himself cry, “You know what she did when I went outside earlier?” 

Dean pulled Cas into his arms, rubbing his back comfortingly, “What did she do?” 

Cas drew in a shaky breath, “She hugged me and told me she was sorry, that she knew how close Kelly and I were. Even after I …” he hesitated a moment, trying to get the words out, “I don’t deserve it. She has every right to hate me.” 

“You’re not the same person you used to be,” Dean replied, “You’re making up for it and that’s what matters. Sometimes that’s all we can do.” 

-

It didn’t take long for Jack to discover that his powers were useful in many ways. He knew that he could transport himself anywhere he wanted, he knew that he could make things explode, and he knew that he could read minds. What he didn’t know, was how to use those powers in the way he wanted and when he wanted, instead of at random. 

It happened frequently, Jack would get frustrated at one thing or another, and suddenly the lightbulbs in the surrounding area would burst, leaving him - and any other occupants of the room - shrouded in darkness. He also found it overwhelming to hear “angel radio” as the Winchesters called it, on top of the ever-present internal monologues of the humans around him. While Cas did his best to help Jack understand how to harness his abilities, ultimately, as he wasn’t an angel anymore, he had difficulty explaining everything to Jack in a way that made sense. Finally, Cas decided that it was time for them to ask someone for help. 

Due to the significant angel warding in the bunker, Cas headed to the large field outside so that he could pray to Gabriel. As if expecting the call, Gabriel materialized in front of Cas almost instantly. 

“Let me guess,” Gabriel started, “The nephilim has gone wild and you’re asking me to help you put a stop to it.”

“No. No, absolutely not. Jack is wonderful, very much like his mother and almost nothing like his father. It’s just that he… struggles to control his powers, and as I am no longer an angel, sometimes I have difficulty explaining the intangible concepts to him.”

“Ah,” Gabriel said, “Nothing like Michael, you say?”

Cas shook his head, “He likes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, he loves Star Wars… he listens to pop music. He doesn’t have any interest in dominating Heaven. He’s just a kid.” 

Gabriel studied Cas intently, clearly having thoughts he wasn’t willing to verbalize. Finally, “I gotta meet the kid, then. I don’t know if I can help him with his abilities, but, I’ll see what I can do.”

-

Sam was sitting in the library, pouring over one of the lore books when Kaia found him. She sat down across from him at the long table, clearing her throat gently. Sam dog-eared the book, closing it on the table in front of him as he smiled at her, “Hey, Kaia, what’s up?”

She looked down at the table for a moment, steeling herself, “You… went to college, right?”

Sam nodded, “Uh, yeah, I was at Kansas State for three and a half years before I had to take some time off. Eventually I’ll finish up the last semester…” 

Kaia nodded, “And… if someone wanted to go to college… how would they start looking into that?” 

Sam raised his eyebrows, smiling gently at her, “You want to go to college?” 

Kaia smiled, blushing just a bit, “I haven’t told Claire yet, or anyone really, so I would appreciate it if you kept this between us.” 

Sam nodded, “Of course, how can I help?”

Kaia rambled about her needs and wants, her apprehensions and her goals, as Sam opened his laptop, inputting the proper criteria to search for colleges that would be fitting for Kaia. He pulled up the admissions requirements to a few of them, and then asked her the appropriate questions. 

“Did you graduate high school?” She nodded, so he continued, “Have you taken the SAT or the ACT?” She nodded again, and by the time they were done, she was fairly confident that she had a decent shot at getting into at least a few of the colleges that they looked at together. 

“I’m not sure how to pay for it, though,” She said, brows furrowed. 

Sam laughed, “Don’t worry, the Men of Letters were fucking loaded, we’ve got you covered in that department.” 

She nodded, smiling shyly. 

“What do you want to do, by the way?” Sam asked finally, “What do you intend to study?” 

“I’m not sure yet,” she replied, “I’ve always really liked English and writing, but maybe History or something. I don’t know.” 

“It’s okay not to know right now. Lots of people change their major at least once while they’re in college. You’ll figure it out.” Sam replied, patting her shoulder. “Do you want to apply to some of these schools? I can help you out with that part, too.”

And so they sat there for a few hours, compiling all of the necessary information to send off various college applications. If Sam forged some recommendation letters, nobody but the two of them had to know. 

-

Gabriel was able to help Jack to develop his abilities to some degree, but his visits were infrequent due to his duties and obligations in Heaven. In the meantime, Claire and Kaia encouraged him to experiment further with his powers. After one particularly catastrophic attempt, Dean found Jack and Kaia attempting to put out a small fire, and Claire nursing what appeared to be a broken wrist. 

“What the hell?!” Dean yelled, pulling the fire extinguisher from the wall and directing the spray towards the rapidly-spreading fire, “What happened in here?” 

Jack started to explain, as Kaia ran over to check on Claire’s wrist, but Dean interrupted, “Go heal Claire’s wrist, then we’ll talk.”

Once the fire was fully out and Claire’s wrist had been dealt with, Dean sat the three of them down in the library. “What the fuck was that?” he asked, incredulous. 

Jack began to explain that he had just been practicing some of his powers, and that he had wanted to show Claire and Kaia what he had been learning, but then he had gotten confused while levitating Claire and then somewhere along the line, a small fire had started. Dean shook his head, “The three of you need to be more careful. No more messing around with your powers until we find someone to help you out more often than Gabriel can,” Dean said with a sigh. 

The three of them nodded sheepishly but remained seated and silent, “Go for a walk or something, stay out of trouble. I’m going to see if Cas knows anyone that can help Jack out. No more messing around, I’m serious,” he said, leveling them with a steady glare. 

Claire was the first to stand up, and the other two were quick to follow. Dean let out another sigh, and set off to find Cas. 

Dean found Cas reading a book in their room, on the bed with his feet propped up, despite wearing shoes. Dean made a mental note to discuss that with him later, but cleared his throat to discuss Jack first, as that was more important. Cas smiled up at him, carefully arranging a bookmark in his book. 

“Hello, Dean.” 

Dean couldn’t help but smile at his angel as he sat down on the bed, “We gotta talk…”

Cas paled, “Did something happen?” 

Dean shook his head quickly, “I dealt with it, they’re all okay now, but Jack was messing around with his powers and it got pretty serious. Somehow they managed to start a fire, and Clarie ended up with a broken wrist - ” Cas moved to speak, but Dean kept going “- she’s healed, it’s okay. I just think that… maybe his infrequent sessions with Gabe aren’t enough, you know? We gotta do something else. I don’t want anything bigger than this to happen.” 

Cas nodded, “I understand. Did you have another plan in mind already?” 

Dean rubbed at the back of his neck, hesitating for a moment, “Well… actually, yeah. I was thinking that maybe Rowena could help him.”

Cas raised his eyebrows, “Rowena,” he clarified, narrowing his eyes, “The mother of the King of Hell?”

“Well… yeah,” Dean replied, “She’s not going to hurt him, and we don’t have to let her do it unsupervised. I just think that he needs someone more constant than Gabe so that we don’t run into more issues like this.” 

Cas sighed, but nodded, “Okay, fine, but the second something goes wrong, I’m going to intervene and put a stop to it.” 

-

Rowena had been delighted to receive a call from the Winchesters requesting that she come back out to the bunker to meet and help out with their nephilim. While she hadn’t been totally sure of what to expect, she was certainly surprised by Jack. 

When she arrived at the bunker, Jack had greeted her with a huge smile and an awkward wave. 

“Hello, dear boy,” Rowena said, unable to help the smile that spread across her face, “You must be Jack. I’m Rowena.” 

He nodded excitedly, “My father said that you were going to help me with my powers!”

“Your father?” she asked with a quirked eyebrow. Before she could get further, Cas stepped forward with a tight smile. Realization dawned on Rowena’s face as she saw the way Cas positioned himself protectively at Jack’s side. 

“Hello, Rowena. Thank you for coming.” 

“Of course, dear,” she said, “Where can I get set up?”

Cas led the way to the spacious gym in the bunker, “We weren’t sure exactly what you’d need, but we figured that you could use this space. If you need something else, you can let us know.” 

Rowena nodded politely, “This will do for now, but it might be wise for us to do some of our work outside. I’m not sure how powerful he’ll be, or how much space we’ll need. We can start small and build up, though.” 

Cas sat in a chair in the corner of the room, and when Rowena realized he wasn’t going to leave, she turned to Jack. “Well, why don’t you show me what you can do, then?” 

Jack smiled, and then his eyes glowed yellow as he began to levitate about a foot and a half above the floor. Rowena smiled and encouraged him, making various suggestions as Cas watched warily from the corner. He intended to stay for the duration of Rowena’s time there, but before long, he heard Dean calling for him down the hallway. With one last glance back at Jack and Rowena, Cas left the room in search of Dean.

Cas found Dean in the kitchen, stirring something on the stove.

“Hello, Dean, are you okay?” 

Dean turned to him with a smile, “Yeah, I’m good. I just wanted you to taste this and let me know what you think...also I think you need to let Rowena and Jack work without being watched the whole time.”

Cas grumbled, but accepted the spoon of soup being presented to him instead of commenting further. 

Cas he coughed after he swallowed the mouthful of soup, “It's very spicy, but it’s good.” 

At Cas’ comment, Dean tasted it himself, eyes widening, “Jesus,” he said, suppressing a cough, “Can you get some heavy cream out of the fridge for me?” 

Cas did as he had been asked, and then wrapped his arms around Dean’s waist as the taller man stirred a few tablespoons of heavy cream into his soup in an attempt to neutralize the heat. When both Dean and Cas felt that the soup was perfect, Dean served up bowls, while Cas went to gather everyone else for dinner. 

Once everyone was gathered around the table, Rowena gushed about all of the progress that Jack had made in just one afternoon. 

“I was thinking…” Rowena hesitated, “Considering what we’ve been doing, the room you’ve put us in is a wee bit small. It might be best if we used that field you have outside. I wouldn’t want to damage this little… bunker of yours.” 

Cas and Dean exchanged a look. Before Cas could speak, Dean leaned forward, “I could use a little time outside. Tomorrow morning?”

Rowena smiled, “That sounds lovely, dear.” 

-

Dean woke up far earlier than he needed to, anxious about Jack’s training with Rowena, though he wouldn’t admit it. He knew that he needed to be confident to alleviate Cas’ obvious worry. He smiled at his boyfriend’s sleeping form, pressing a kiss to his temple as he crawled out of bed. He knew that Cas wouldn’t be awake for the next few hours at least. After millenia of never sleeping, the former angel couldn’t seem to get enough of it as a human. 

Dean pulled on some jeans and a flannel, and padded into the kitchen to get some coffee going. He was surprised to find the kitchen light on, despite it being just barely after 6 in the morning. Bela sat at the table, sipping some tea as she flipped through what looked to be a tacky YA novel. Dean smiled to himself, knowing that she had probably stolen it from the stash Claire would never admit to having. 

“Hey Bela,” Dean said quietly, not wanting to scare her. 

She was startled anyway, “Jesus Christ, Dean,” she said, slightly breathless, “I need to get you a bell or something, fuck.” 

Dean laughed as he made his way over to the coffee pot, “What are you doing awake?”

Bela dog-eared the book page and closed it, “Nightmares, as usual.” 

Dean nodded, “Does it help, talking to Sam about that stuff since he’s been there too?” 

“Oh,” she said blushing, “Actually, my nightmares aren’t really about Hell anymore. My childhood was… difficult, I guess,” she swallowed and hesitated, “For some reason, memories of that keep coming to me.” 

Dean nodded as he poured his coffee, “I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure you deserved better than… whatever happened.” 

She looked up and met his eyes, “Sam didn’t tell you, then?” 

Dean shook his head and sat down at the table across from her. She took a deep breath, and began to unload everything on him, sharing that her mother was cold and uncaring, while her father abused her in every imaginable way, “I just wanted it to stop,” she said, holding back tears, “That’s why I made the deal.” 

“Fuck,” Dean said when she had finished, “I’m so sorry that you went through all of that. You didn’t deserve that, and you definitely didn’t deserve to go to Hell.” 

Bela sniffled and smiled, “Thank you, Dean.” 

Before too long, Jack wandered into the kitchen, “Good morning, Dean! Hi, Bela!” 

“Hello Jack,” Bela said with a smile. 

“What do you want for breakfast, kid?” Dean asked, getting up to make something for him. 

Jack pondered for a moment, “Can I have pancakes?” 

Dean nodded, moving to the refrigerator, “‘Course you can.” 

Jack and Bela chatted amicably as Dean cooked enough for everyone. Drawn by the smell of pancakes and bacon, both Sam and Rowena filed into the room, one after the other. Sam made his way over to the coffee pot and poured himself a generous mug. 

Once breakfast had been served, Sam mentioned that he was planning on driving into town for a grocery run, and asked if anyone had any special requests. Once breakfast was cleared up, Sam got ready to leave, and faced with the decision to either stay inside with her thoughts, or go with Dean to watch Jack and Rowena, Bela chose the latter. 

After a few minutes of gathering up supplies and waiting for Dean to package up breakfast leftovers for Claire and Kaia, the group headed up the stairs, save for Cas who stayed back in case the girls ended up needing help with anything.

-

With Jack training with Rowena, Kaia and Claire were left to entertain themselves. Claire was laying on the floor of the bedroom while Kaia was on their bed. “How’s the writing?” Claire asked, looking up at Kaia, where her girlfriend was writing in a leather notebook that Sam had given her. 

“Good,” Kaia muttered, her pencil scratching the paper. Claire could tell that she was absorbed in whatever she was writing so she pushed herself up off the floor to wander out of their room and down the hallway. She passed by Sam and Bela’s room and Dean and Castiel’s’, both empty of all occupants. 

Claire continued until she was in the library, and only Castiel was sitting at one of the tables, book open in front of him. “Where is everyone?” she asked, smiling a little when Cas jumped. 

“Oh, well, Dean and Bela went with Jack and Rowena to keep an eye on him, and Sam went into town to do the grocery shopping. I offered to stay here in case you or Kaia needed anything,” Castiel explained. “Is there something you needed?” 

“No, not really,” Claire shook her head and sat down at the table across from him. “Kaia is writing and she gets into this, like, mood, so I figured I would leave her to it.” 

“Dean does the same when he’s working on his car,” Castiel said, abandoning his book without a second thought. 

“What are you reading?” Claire asked, pulling the book closer to her, though she couldn’t recognize any of the letters...or symbols that were on the page. 

“It’s a very old book, written in Enochian, and it’s about archangels,” Castiel said. “I am searching for anything that might be useful to use against Michael.” 

“Enochian?” Claire raised her eyebrows. “I’ve never heard of Enochian.” 

“That’s not surprising. It is the language of angels,” he said with a small smile. “I could show you some of the letters, if you want.” Claire thought for a moment before she nodded and moved so that she was sitting next to Castiel, far easier for them to both see it that way. 

Castiel began showing her the different letters and words, telling her what each was and what it meant as it was not at all comparable to English. 

“And this one,” Castiel said with a small chuckle. “It means ‘you breed with the mouth of a goat’.” Claire just raised her eyebrows and stared at him. “It’s funnier in Enochian.” Claire did snort at that, covering her mouth with her hand. 

“I bet it is,” Claire said, rolling her eyes a bit. “Doesn’t sound like it’s gonna be very helpful though. You found anything good?”

“Not particularly,” Castiel said with a shake of his head. “There’s a few entries that mention potential weapons that would work against an archangel but they are either locked up tight in Heaven with no chance of retrieving them - even with Gabriel’s help - or they were destroyed long ago.” Claire nodded and took a deep breath. 

“Why did you do it?” she asked quietly, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Do what?” Castiel closed the book and turned to look at her. 

“Possess my dad.” 

“Oh,” Castiel said and dropped his head. He was silent for a long time, but Claire didn’t push for him to speak. “Angels, as a species, were made to follow. We were soldiers, perfect soldiers. Never question an order, never have doubts, never feel anything but love for our Father. The garrison I was in was given the order to raise the Righteous Man from Hell and once he was alive again, I was tasked with guiding him.” 

“The Righteous Man...that’s Sam right?” she clarified. She had gotten bits of pieces of the last few years but never the full story. 

“Yes, it is Sam. But in order to guide him, I needed a vessel. Angels have chosen vessels, based on bloodlines. Mine are the Novaks,” Castiel said. “When your father prayed to me, and accepted my possession, I was not the angel...the man I am today. I did not hold humans in the same regard, I did not see their lives as valuable. At least, not the way I do now. I saw possessing your father as a necessary evil.” 

Claire remained quiet, thinking over everything Castiel had said. 

“Claire, you must know...what happened to you and your family,” Castiel truly did sound remorseful, she noted. “There is _nothing_ I regret more in my entire existence. I would give up everything I have to make things right for you.” Claire just watched him for a very long moment, eyes watering a little. 

“Most of it has been shit,” Claire agreed. “But if you hadn’t possessed him, I wouldn’t have ever come out. And I never would have met Kaia.” 

“The silver lining, I suppose,” Castiel said with a crooked smile, Claire returning it with her own matching one. 

-

That night, Dean was already in bed reading a book by the time Cas joined him, the former angel collapsing onto the mattress. 

“You good, babe?” Dean asked, turning his attention from his novel to his boyfriend, letting the book fall to his lap. 

“Physically yes,” Cas sighed deeply. “But today, Claire asked me why I possessed Jimmy Novak.” 

“Well shit,” Dean muttered as he closed his book and set it on the nightstand. “How did it go?” 

“Good, actually, at least I believe it did. I gave her my reasons, which are not good, but she listened,” Cas said. “I never thought she would want to speak of it.” 

“I’m glad she did, and yeah, why you did it was pretty shitty, but you were a different person then. You didn’t know all the stuff you know now,” Dean reminded him, reaching down to card his fingers through Cas’ hair. “And I think she’s starting to realize that.” 

“She did say she would not have met Kaia if it weren’t for the events that unfolded. Nor would she have ever been open with her sexuality,” Cas revealed, looking up at Dean. 

“See, there’s always something good. Sammy dying was the worst part of my life but I got you out of it,” Dean smiled down at him. Cas returned it and tugged Dean down to meet his lips in a kiss. 

“I love you,” he whispered against Dean’s mouth. 

“I love you too, angel,” Dean pulled back, adjusting his position so Cas could lay his head in Dean’s lap. “Jack is doing well with his training. His control is miles better than it was when he was born.” 

“That is what I have noticed as well. He’s very smart and very capable when it comes to his abilities. However, after we have taken care of Michael, we will have to backtrack. He will need to know how to be human.” 

“You learned just fine,” Dean protested, tugging lightly at Cas’ hair. Cas just gave him a pointed look. 

“You constantly tell me jokes that you know I won’t understand because you find it funny to listen to me logically work them out,” Cas accused. 

“Give me one example!” Dean said, flabbergasted. 

“Why is six afraid of seven?” Cas deadpanned, and Dean couldn’t hold back the laughter. 

“You have to admit that was funny as hell, man,” he said between gasps of air. “You went on about how intimidating prime numbers were for five minutes before Sam finally took pity.” 

“And you would have let me keep going,” Cas said. “Which is why you cannot be trusted with Jack’s education in human customs.” 

“Oh come on,” Dean whined, “I’ll be a great teacher!” Cas just ignored him and reached over to his own night stand to grab the book he was reading - _Eclipse_ by Stephanie Meyer, opening it to his current page and ignoring Dean. 

“C’mon Cas,” Dean pouted and tugged at his hair again. Cas continued to ignore him and all of the subsequent attempts to distract him from his book. “Fine.” Dean grabbed his own book and began reading once more, the two of lounging together in comfortable silence. 

-

Now that Jack was training with both Gabriel and Rowena, he had a much better grasp on his powers, how to control them, and what he could use them for. 

He also loved showing them off, especially to Claire and Kaia. 

“Rowena showed me how to make myself invisible today!” Jack told the two girls excitedly as they all three sat cross legged on the girls’ bed. 

“Can you show us? Or, not show us, I guess?” Kaia asked, tilting her head a bit as she thought over the logistics. 

“I can try! I’m only just starting that so I might not be able to do it,” Jack said and closed his eyes, sitting up a bit straighter as he concentrated. A moment later, Kaia and Claire were gasping loudly. 

“Holy shit, you’re invisible!” Claire exclaimed, and Jack opened his eyes. He looked down and surely enough, his body was gone. He took a deep breath and allowed himself to be seen once more, beaming at his two friends as they began bombarding him with questions about what it felt like. 

“Think of all the things we could do with this power, Jack!” Claire said excitedly. “Sneaking into places you shouldn’t be, stealing things that are too expensive to pay for...the possibilities are endless!” 

“Father says I shouldn’t steal,” Jack frowned. 

“Okay not steal, what about...pranks?” Claire amended quickly, raising her eyebrows. 

“I’m not sure. What is a prank?” Jack asked, glancing between the two girls. 

“Well, it’s like playing a trick on someone, a mostly harmless trick. Like...putting plastic wrap on the toilet so piss goes everywhere,” Kaia explained with a small giggle. “Just small stuff like that.” 

“That sounds fun! I would like to participate in these pranks. What should we do?” Jack always sounded so earnest and sincere, it was refreshing to the girls, but especially Kaia as she had grown up in a system that was filled with dishonest, neglectful, and abusive people. 

“Well, Dean and Cas are the obvious choice,” Claire said. “But what could we do to them?” 

“We could go old school and do all the classics. Take the batteries out of the remotes, tape down the sprayer on the sink. Oh, there was a kid in one of the group homes that once those googly eyes on like, everything he could reach in the entire kitchen and living room,” Kaia said thoughtfully. 

“Sound good, Jack?” Claire asked, turning to her pseudo brother. Jack nodded excitedly. 

“Where do we get...googly eyes?” 

-

The three kids were able to get out of the bunker a few days after hatching their plan when Sam and Dean had to head to Kansas City for a quick hunt, leaving just Bela and Cas in charge. They headed into town and to the nearest craft store, buying out their entire stock of googly eyes in all the different sizes, as well as several bottles of glitter. They paid for their items with a credit card Claire had swiped from Dean’s wallet.

“What is the glitter for?” Jack asked as they drove back to the bunker. 

“Well, once you put glitter somewhere, it never goes away, so I thought it would be nice to sprinkle some over Dean’s clothes,” Claire explained with a smirk. Once they were back in the bunker, they snuck into the kitchen first and tore open the packs of google eyes and began sticking them to absolutely every single thing they could find, and once they finished there, they moved to the library. It took a lot longer since they decided to put one on every single book on the shelves. 

Next, they headed down to Cas and Dean’s room. “Can you only make yourself invisible? Or can you make other people invisible too?” Kaia asked, as they were unsure of where Cas or Bela were. 

“I’ve never tried but I probably could,” Jack said thoughtfully and took each of their hands. He was silent for a moment, eyes closed as he concentrated and suddenly, the three of them were invisible. 

“Well hot damn,” Claire said with a wide grin. “Let’s go, we should still hurry.” Kaia opened the door to Cas and Dean’s room which was thankfully empty, and they set to work. Jack and Kaia worked on the googly eyes, only sticking them to Dean’s things, while Claire dumped glitter all over Dean’s clothes in his dresser, as well as his shoes in the closet, upending an entire bottle of hot pink glitter in a pair of his boots. 

They all froze when they heard a door open down the hall, Kaia peeking her head out the door. “It’s Bela, she’s heading to the bathroom, we’re good, let’s go!” she whispered, and they all filed out quickly to rush to Jack’s bedroom. Once they were safe inside with the door closed, he made them all visible again. 

“Now what?” he asked with wide eyes. 

“Now we wait,” Claire said, settling into Jack’s bed to do just that. 

-

Luckily, they didn’t have to wait long. Sam and Dean returned early that evening from the hunt. Jack hurried out to greet the two of them, hugging them both. As Cas was his Father, he had begun to see Dean in the same light, always taking care of him in the same way Cas did. 

“Hey kid,” Dean said, pressing a quick kiss to Jack’s head. “What’d you and the girls get up to while we were out?” 

“Oh, nothing really,” Jack said, hoping it sounded as nonchalant as he meant it to. “Just hung out.” “Glad you had fun. I’m starving, you guys started anything for dinner?” 

“You know none of us can cook,” Cas said as he rounded the corner into the war room, greeting Dean with a drawn out kiss. “We could order in, if you’d like?” 

“Sounds perfect,” Dean said gratefully, keeping an arm around Cas’ waist. “I’m fucking beat. I’m gonna go change if you wanna order something? You know what I like.” 

“Of course, Dean,” Cas said and Jack watched nervously as Dean headed down the hallway toward his bedroom, Sam staying with them as Bela emerged, wrapping her arms around his neck in an embrace. Jack waited a long moment before excusing himself to go back to his room, where Claire and Kaia were waiting. Before Jack could even explain, Dean’s voice sounded down the hallway. 

“What the fuck is all this?” Dean shouted from his room. Claire snorted, covering her mouth quickly as they heard Dean’s footsteps coming closer. The door banged open and Dean stood in front of them, shirtless, with one of his pajamas shirts clutched in his hand, red glitter falling with every single tiny movement. “What the fuck is this?” he asked once more, glaring at them. 

“I’m not sure,” Kaia shrugged, looking as innocent as ever. Dean narrowed his eyes and looked around the room, likely trying to find evidence but Claire had thrown all the trash away in the bathroom and then emptied that into the dumpster. 

“I know it was you three, and you will pay,” Dean growled and stomped out of the room. They made sure to wait to hear his bedroom door slam shut before all three teenagers burst out laughing, Claire falling from the bed to the floor. 

At dinner that night, everyone sitting around the table, their muffled laughter seeing Dean in his glitter covered pajamas almost gave them away. 

-

Somewhere in between going on hunts and worrying about the angelic situation, Dean discovered that Kaia had never learned to drive, and decided he needed to fix that immediately. Unwilling to subject the Impala to the whims of a new driver, Dean pulled out one of the other cars that the Men of Letters had left in the garage. Fortunately for Dean and Kaia, as well as the other drivers on the road, there was a great expanse of dirt roads near the bunker, so that Kaia could get started right away, without having to worry about traffic. 

Kaia was a relatively quick learner, listening to the instructions Dean gave, and following them to a T. 

“Pretty soon, we can just take you to the DMV and you can get your license,” Dean said, moderately impressed, “You’re decent at this.” 

Kaia shrugged, “It’s not too hard.” 

Dean let out a laugh, “Don’t be modest. I taught Sammy to drive and that was one of the scariest experiences of my life.” 

It progressed like that, when they had free time, Dean and Kaia listened to the music of Dean’s choosing _(“Teacher picks the music, student shuts her cakehole”_ Dean had said) and practiced everything from parallel parking to three-point-turns, and before they knew it, Kaia was ready to go in for her road test, so that she could earn her legal driver’s license. Charlie had offered to make her a fake, but Kaia had kindly declined that offer, not keen on getting caught with a fake license. 

-

The first time that an angel tracked them down, Cas and Dean had been grocery shopping with Jack. As Jack rambled on about which type of fruit snacks he wanted to buy, Cas tensed up and grabbed Dean’s arm, “Wait.”

Dean stopped in his tracks, looking at Cas with concern, “What is it?”

Ignoring him, Cas reached forward and grabbed the back of Jack’s coat, pulling the nephilim towards him, before speaking in a low voice, “Jack can you hear angels nearby?”

Jack closed his eyes in concentration for a moment, “Yes, they’re talking about me… and Michael.” 

“We need to get out of here now,” Cas said gruffly, abandoning their shopping cart. Dean patted his pocket to ensure that he had one of their angel blades on him, making eye contact with Cas once he was sure. Cas nodded, and they made their way out of the store quickly. 

Once they were safely out of the store and a ways down the road, Dean turned to Cas momentarily, “How did you know?” 

Cas sighed, a bit frustrated with himself, “I thought I recognized one of the vessels but, as a human my memory isn’t as good as it once was. It took me a bit of time to place where I remembered it from.” 

Dean nodded in understanding, “Do you think we need to move? Go into hiding or something?” 

Cas shook his head, even though Dean was looking at the road instead of at him, “The warding will protect him, we just need to be more careful. No more public outings until the Michael situation has been resolved.” Cas looked back at Jack to gauge whether he had any kind of reaction to the situation, but he was busy playing something on his newly-acquired DS. 

-

It only took a week and a half for Jack to be tired of being trapped inside, even though he enjoyed the time he spent training with Rowena and hanging out with his family in the bunker. He hadn’t spent much time in public to begin with, but he had thoroughly enjoyed when he had been able to be at parks, the grocery store, the library, and various restaurants. 

He was about to give up and go to sleep when he had an idea. He opened his bedroom door, surveying the hallway quickly to make sure that nobody saw him. As quietly as possible, he snuck towards Claire’s room, where he could see light peeking out from under the door. He knocked quietly and waited. 

A little bit flustered - from what, Jack couldn’t tell - Claire flung the door open. “Oh, Jack! Hi, what are you up to?” 

“I want you to help me sneak out,” he replied bluntly. 

Claire’s eyes widened and then she smirked, “Your dads have kept you on a pretty tight leash lately, huh?” 

He was about to reply, when Kaia made her way over to the door, pulling on a sweatshirt, and Claire turned to her, “Jack wants to sneak out. Wanna come?” 

Kaia laughed and turned back to face Jack, “Where are we going?” 

Jack blinked in surprise, not having thought that far ahead, “I... I’m not sure.”

“Let’s go to McDonalds,” Claire suggested, “I’m hungry.” 

Kaia stopped to grab one of the angel blades from the weapons room on their way to the garage, _just in case_ she told herself. Claire grabbed the keys to one of the cars - not the Impala, because she knew Dean would meticulously check the mileage and would know they had borrowed it without permission. 

With Claire in the driver's seat Kaia took the passenger seat, leaving Jack to fit himself into the back seat. Kaia plugged her iPod into the cassette adapter that Sam had installed once he had settled on that car, and she began to play an album that Jack was unfamiliar with, but enjoyed anyway. 

Before long, Claire was in the drive-through of McDonald’s asking what Jack wanted. He didn’t know, so they ended up ordering half the menu so that he could try everything that sounded even remotely good. 

“I just have one more thing I want to do,” Claire said decisively, “And then we can go to the park or something to eat.” 

Claire pulled the car up to a corner store, and with a wink at Kaia, she walked in by herself. She returned a few moments later with a six-pack of Bud Light. 

“One of these days, someone is going to realize how fake that ID is,” Kaia said with a laugh, accepting the beers so that Claire’s hands would be free to drive. 

“Maybe one day,” Claire replied, “But today isn’t that day.” 

The three of them ended up at one of the local parks, claiming a picnic table for themselves, though the rest of the park was totally empty anyway, save for one lone maintenance worker who was too busy working to pay them much mind. 

“Have you ever had a beer, Jack?” Claire asked with a devious smile.

Jack shook his head, so she cracked one open and handed it to him, “It won’t taste good, but after a few you’ll feel good.” 

He took a sip and grimaced, “That’s disgusting.” 

Claire and Kaia laughed, drinking from their own cans. The three of them chatted as they ate and drank, so engrossed in their own world that they had stopped paying attention to their surroundings. 

“Jack Kline,” said an unfamiliar voice, causing all of them to freeze, “We have been searching for you for quite some time.” 

Claire stood up from the picnic table, reaching for the switchblade in her pocket, “Who the fuck are you?” 

The woman smiled, “My name is Naomi,” she took a few steps closer, eyes trained on Jack, “I won’t hurt you, but you must come with me. Your father has been waiting a long time to meet you.” 

Kaia quirked an eyebrow, “You an angel?” 

Naomi’s smile remained as she turned to look at Kaia, “Not just any angel. I’m one of Michael’s closest advisors. Just let the nephilim go with me, and there won’t be any issues.” 

Kaia stood up as well, pulling the angel blade from her jacket pocket, “I don’t think so.” 

Naomi ignored the girls and stepped further still, focusing on Jack, “You have a duty to Heaven, Jack. Come with me, and you’ll have power that you’ve never even dreamed of.” 

While Jack was still naive in many ways, he knew better than to listen to a stranger promising him anything, especially when he noted the way that his friends reacted to her. Grateful that he and Rowena had been working on his teleportation abilities lately, he grabbed Claire and Kaia’s hands, teleporting them back to the outside of the bunker without any warning. 

“We need to hurry inside,” Kaia said nervously, “I think they can follow us here.” 

To everyone’s dismay, the entryway lights were on when they went inside, and Cas and Dean were seated at the library table, staring at them expectantly. After a beat of silence Dean spoke gruffly, “Y’all know we have cameras, right?” 

“Okay, you can be mad at us later but right now we have a huge fucking problem,” Claire said shakily. 

Cas and Dean’s facial expressions shifted from anger to concern instantly, “What’s wrong?” Cas asked anxiously.

“We were sitting in the park and some crazy lady came up and started demanding that Jack come with her,” Kaia replied.

“What, just like some random lady?” Dean asked.

“An angel,” Kaia replied, pulling the angel blade out of her pocket, “She said her name was Naomi.” 

Cas stiffened and walked towards them, grabbing Jack by the arms and looking into his eyes, “Can you hear them?” he asked, “Any of the angels? Can you hear what they’re saying?”

Claire and Kaia walked over and sat at the table near Dean, while Cas and Jack conversed about the angels. 

“What were you thinking?” Dean asked, none of his earlier frustration in his voice, “One of you could’ve gotten hurt.” 

“We just wanted him to have some fun,” Claire explained, “He’s been stuck here for a while. We didn’t think anything bad would happen.” 

Dean sighed, but understood what she meant. Cas and Jack joined them at the table. 

“I’m going to speak with Gabriel,” Cas said, “I don’t really know what else to do. Naomi is a very high-ranking angel and the fact that Michael sent her is nothing good. I’ve had my fair share of encounters with her myself and she... “ he sighed “The implications aren’t good.”

“Okay,” Dean said, maintaining eye contact with Cas. “Kids get to bed, we’ll figure this out.” 

Rattled from the earlier events, the three of them went to their rooms without argument. 

-

Ignoring the fact that it was just shy of 3 in the morning, Dean banged on Sam’s door and yelled for him, only slightly regretting the knowledge that Bela would be woken as well. After a few moments of grumbling and shuffling, Sam flung his door open, Bela buttoning up one of Sam’s flannels behind him. 

“What the fuck do you need,” Sam asked, voice heavy with sleep. 

“Long story short, the kids snuck out and one of Michael’s buddies found them. They’re okay, but… Cas says that this angel, Naomi means business. Cas thinks we need to act now.” 

Sam’s eyes widened, “Okay, uh,” he rubbed at his eyes, “Shit. What do we do?” 

“First, I’m going to make some coffee, Cas is outside praying to Gabe, so hopefully he can help us figure something out,” Dean replied, making for the kitchen. 

Sam, Dean and Bela sat around the kitchen table, waiting for the coffee to brew while Dean told the other two everything that he knew about the events of the night. At the tell-tale sign of the bunker door slamming shut, and footsteps on the stairs, Dean fixed a cup of coffee for Cas just the way he liked it. 

Likely led by the scent of coffee, Cas found his way into the kitchen, with Gabriel close behind. Cas smiled gratefully as he accepted the mug of coffee from Dean. 

“You want some, Gabe?” Dean offered. Gabriel shook his head, but sat down at the table. 

“So,” Gabriel said with a sigh, “I don’t know how well my brother here explained the whole… angelic politics of it all, but Michael sending Naomi is bad business. She specializes in… angel lobotomies, if you will.” 

“What the Hell does an angel need a lobotomy for?” Sam asked.

Everyone turned to Cas when he spoke up, “Back before the situation with Metatron, Heaven was very rigid. Orders came down from the authorities, and it was our job to follow them. Naomi led the sector that was responsible for...reprogramming those who dared to disobey orders.”

“So, she’s not just here to kidnap Jack, she’s here to brainwash him for Michael?” Dean asked, rage evident in his voice.

“It certainly looks that way,” Gabriel replied, an uncharacteristically somber look on his face. 

“So what do we do about it?” asked Bela

Gabriel explained that he and his allies in Heaven had built an army, and were working on a plan to stop Michael, but that they were unsure of his plans, and he didn’t feel that they were ready to take him on quite yet. 

“If we could get Jack…” Gabriel started, when Cas interrupted him. 

“Absolutely not. Jack will not be involved in any of this. He’s a kid.”

“He’s a nephilim,” Gabriel argued. 

“It’s not gonna happen, Gabe,” said Dean in a tone that suggested it would be better not to argue with him.

-

As a result of the encounter with Naomi, Sam and Dean had utilized every resource at their disposal. It was a good thing that the bunker had far more rooms than they could ever fill, because at their call, Mary, Bobby, Karen, Jody and Donna had crammed into Mary’s SUV and made the drive to Lebanon within a few hours. The next few days were like nothing that Claire, Kaia or Jack had ever seen. Coffee was flowing constantly, and at least 3 people were awake and strategizing in the War Room at any given time. 

One evening as Claire was sitting by herself eating dinner, waiting for Kaia and Jack to finish watching some movie that Claire wasn’t interested in, one of the women who was friends with Sam and Dean’s mom came to sit with her. 

“Where’s your friend,” the woman asked, just on the wrong side of chipper for Claire’s taste.

“My _girlfriend_ and Jack are watching some stupid musical, they’ll be here soon.” 

“I see,” the woman replied, taking Claire’s attitude in stride, “My girlfriend is a big fan of those romantic comedies but me? I just want to put on a slasher movie and call it good.” Claire rolled her eyes. Typical straight women, she thought. 

“Maybe her boyfriend isn’t doing his job if she needs to watch that kind of movie,” Claire scoffed. 

Donna let out a laugh, “I promise, I take care of her just fine.” 

Claire blushed, “You meant… that kind of girlfriend?” 

“Yes I did, kiddo. I’d marry her if I could,” Donna replied with a smile, “Maybe one day…” 

Claire felt the lump rising in her throat and found herself unable to speak. After too many seconds of silence had passed, Donna met her eyes and saw that she was struggling to speak. 

“You okay there, kiddo?” Donna asked, voice filled with concern. 

Claire’s eyes swam with tears, “I just....” she trailed off, taking a deep breath to compose herself, “I never thought people like me grew up. My parents were so homophobic and I just always thought I’d marry a man or I’d kill myself. I didn’t know there were actually other options.” 

Donna pulled her into a hug, “There are so many of us out there, you’ll see. I’m so glad that you’re here now.”

-

Since Rowena had been consulting with the hunters regarding the impending confrontation with Michael, her training sessions with Jack had dropped off, leaving him to entertain himself. Despite the chaos surrounding them, their exclusion from the strategy meetings left Kaia with plenty of time to write, leaving Claire in much of the same position as Jack. To remedy this, the two of them hung out in Jack’s room - to avoid disturbing Kaia - watching YouTube videos on Sam’s laptop. 

Claire turned the laptop towards her to type something different into the search bar, but paused when she noticed that Jack had stiffened beside her. She frowned and turned to face him fully, “What’s up, weirdo?” 

“I have to go up to Heaven. I’m sorry, tell everyone I’m sorry. Goodbye, Claire.” 

Before she could get a word out, he had disappeared. Fully unsure of what to do, she ran down the hall shrieking for Dean, tears streaming down her face already. To her relief, he was sitting at one of the long tables in the war room, speaking to Rowena and Sam. He ran over to her and put his hands on her shoulder, concern radiating off of him, “Hey, what’s going on? It’s okay.”

“Jack,” she whimpered, drawing in a shaky breath, “He left. He said he had to go to Heaven and he told me to apologize to everyone,” she broke down again, and he pulled her close, rubbing her back. 

He kept one of his arms around her, but he turned slightly so that he could yell, “Everyone, get in here now!” 

Once everyone had entered the room, Dean explained what had happened, and was met with a chorus of gasping and muttering. Though his voice wavered, he delegated responsibilities, dead set on saving Jack, no matter what it took. Bobby and Rowena began theorizing about ways that they could get into Heaven without the help of an angel, while Bela and Sam went to call Sister Jo to see if she could connect to angel radio and give them any information. Mary and Karen went to the weapons room to gather anything that could be used to slow down or kill an angel, as Jody and Donna looked into the possibility of summoning Michael to distract him, and researching whether that could work against his will. With a kiss to the top of Claire’s head, Dean broke away to go with Cas in his attempt to summon Gabriel, though everybody knew that it wouldn’t work if the war in Heaven was happening. 

Without Dean beside her, Claire collapsed into a chair and Kaia rushed over, cupping her face, “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. I can’t believe this.” 

Claire sniffled, “I can’t lose anyone else. He has to be okay.” Kaia moved her chair as close as possible to Claire’s and grabbed her hand. Claire leaned over, resting her head on Kaia’s shoulder. 

As predicted, Dean and Cas reentered the bunker after they were unable to get a response from Gabriel. Generally disappointed with the failure of most of their tasks, everyone slowly trickled back into the room, save for Sam and Bela. 

As the tense near-silence of the war room got to be too much, Sam ran into the room, “Bela got ahold of Sister Jo! She’ll be here in a second.” As if on cue, the front door of the bunker slammed shut, and Bela walked down the main stairway, followed by the angel. 

“Wow,” Sister Jo commented, “Quite the gathering you’ve got here.”

“Anael,” Cas said gruffly, “Where is he?” 

She smirked, “He’s fine, Castiel. He’s with Gabriel. The nephilim is much stronger than you give him credit for.” 

None of the hunters - or Rowena - dared to comment on the situation, watching the conversation unfold between the current and former angel. 

“And Michael is working with Naomi, so excuse me if I’m worried about what could happen to him.” Cas said icily, narrowing his eyes. 

“Do you know why he’s there?” she asked, not waiting for an answer, “I heard the threat - or the _suggestion,_ I guess - that Naomi made. I assume he made his decision to fight for Gabriel based on that.”

“What are you talking about,” Dean finally spoke up. 

Anael turned to him with a smile, “Naomi suggested that perhaps Jack would have a better understanding of who his real father is, if his replacement father were out of the picture.” 

Dean paled, but before he, or anyone else could comment on the implications, Anael spoke again, “Oh, it’s getting exciting now.” She sat down at one of the tables, closing her eyes to concentrate better. Everyone stayed silent, and Anael called out important bits of information as she received them. 

“It’s not looking great for Gabriel’s side,” she commented, “They definitely weren’t prepared enough to deal with a threat of this size, and it looks like Gabriel is keeping your nephilim as far away from it as possible.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the thought that Jack wasn’t in the center of the battle, but feared the implications of an under-prepared army. Cas’ heart dropped when Anael gasped, “What? What is it Anael?” he asked urgently. 

She shushed him, focusing intently on the voices in her head. After a few tense moments, she took a deep breath and spoke, “It seems that they’ve found Jack.” 

Dean felt his stomach drop and he reached over to grab Cas’ hand, knuckles going white. Claire was still crying against Kaia’s shoulder and everyone waited with bated breath for more news. 

“ _Oh,”_ Anael said with a gasp, “He’s magnificent.” She continued, describing the battle between the two factions of angels, how Jack was faring against the opposing angels. “He’s very...clever, with how he attacks.” 

“That’ll be my doing,” Rowena said, cutting the tension slightly. 

“He’s made it through the front lines of Michael’s forces and he’s pushing back quickly. With him leading the charge, Gabriel’s soldiers are making it through much easier and protecting him from behind,” Anael described, eyes glazed over as she paid more and more attention to what was happening in Heaven. 

“Is Jack okay?” Dean asked, voice strained as he prayed to his son to be safe. 

“He’s been injured, but nothing critical,” Anael answered. “Oh...he just killed Naomi.” Everyone was once again dead silent, knowing that Jack must be closing in on Michael now. “Gabriel has joined him and....”

The silence in the room was palpable as they waited for Anael to finish. She finally was able to focus on the humans once more, a smile on her face, “Your nephilim is even more powerful than I had imagined. They did it.”

-

Though bloody and bruised, Jack was smiling when he reappeared in the bunker. “Jack,” Cas gasped, with tears in his eyes and surged forward to hug the nephilim, “We were so worried about you.” 

“I know,” Jack replied solemnly, “I’m sorry that I couldn’t explain it before I had to leave. They were threatening to come for you and I just couldn’t let them.” 

Dean clapped Jack on the shoulder, “We know, kid, Sister Jo told us. We’re just sorry we couldn’t have been there to help you. Nobody should have to kill their own father. If you have some weird feelings or you wanna talk about it, or anything, that’s okay.” 

Jack furrowed his brows, “Castiel is my father. Michael having been the one to impregnate my mother means nothing to me. He was a threat, and now he’s gone. That’s it. Can we get pizza for dinner tonight? I’m pretty hungry.”

Despite the circumstances, the room erupted in soft laughter. “Sure, kid,” Dean said with a smile, “Let’s get some pizza.” 

Sam and Bela went out to get pizza, since none of the local joints were able to deliver to the bunker. Once Jack had a moment to himself, he healed his injuries and went over to speak with Claire. 

“I’m sorry that I left the way I did,” he said, eyes downcast, “It was unfair to put that on you without an explanation.” 

She punched him in the shoulder lightly and gave him a wry smile, “Don’t ever do that again. Next time, you bring me with you.” 

Jack grinned at her, “Well, I’m hoping there won’t be a ‘next time’.” 

Before long, Sam and Bela returned with a stack of pizza boxes, and everyone gathered around the long tables in the library. They shared pizza as they chatted and laughed, the relief in the room was palpable without the looming threat of Michael coming to kidnap or harm Jack. Eventually, people broke off from the group and headed to bed, exhausted not only from the events of the day, but from the weeks prior. 

Despite Michael’s defeat, the hunters weren’t confident that that meant the angel complications were entirely over. Mary, Bobby, Karen, Donna and Jody planned to go back to Sioux Falls in the next few days, but vowed to stay prepared to come back and help at the first hint of angelic interference. 

-

“Claire,” Kaia started one evening once they had retired to their room after dinner. Now that there wasn’t an immediate threat, she knew she needed to share this, “I need to tell you something.” 

“What’s up?” Claire asked, eyebrows furrowing with concern. Kaia sat down on their bed, so Claire followed suit. 

Kaia looked down at her hands for a moment, steeling herself, “Sam has been helping me apply to some colleges and...I got accepted to one that I want to go to. Sam said that the Men of Letters have some crazy savings and that they’ll pay for all of it and...I really want to go to college, Claire.” 

Claire beamed, pulling Kaia into a hug, “I’m so proud of you, baby, where are we going?”

“It’s in Sioux Falls,” Kaia explained, “I thought maybe we could stay with Mrs. Winchester or something, I don’t know. I think it would be good for us to be somewhere close to people we know, you know? And it’s not far from here, we could get a car, maybe, come visit Sam, Dean Jack …” “And Castiel,” Claire added with a smile, “That sounds so good. When do you start? I’ll have to get a job or something.” 

“It starts in the beginning of September, so, we can spend the next four months doing whatever you want, and then we can go get settled in.” 

Claire pressed a kiss to Kaia’s temple, “I am so excited for our future together.” 

-

Once Kaia had told everyone about her plans to go to school in Sioux Falls - Sam, true to his word, kept her secret - they decided that it would be best for Claire and Kaia to take a trip to Sioux Falls just to see what it was like, before they officially moved in. Both Claire and Kaia knew that this was mostly just an excuse for Sam and Dean to visit their mom and friends.

Sam and Bela were tied up working a local case, but promised to drive up to Sioux Falls when they were finished, so Jack, Claire and Kaia crammed into the back of the Impala. As they started down the highway, Dean turned his music up, content to drive the next 300 miles to the tune of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. His plan, as was standard recently, was interrupted by Claire. 

“You are _so_ old, god, Dean. Don’t you have anything that was released _after_ the fall of the Berlin Wall?” 

“Yeah,” Jack chimed in, “I want to listen to the Jonas Brothers!” 

“I don’t even think they make that on cassette,” Dean shot back smugly, “Can’t play it if we don’t have the hardware to do it.” 

Kaia smiled deviously at Jack and Claire, “That’s okay, I brought my iPod and an adapter. I figured we’d have this problem.” 

Cas patted Dean’s thigh sympathetically, but smirked at the kids’ thought process. Dean let out an exaggerated sigh, “Fine, we’ll do it your way.” 

A few hours and several pop albums later, Dean pulled into the driveway of his mother’s house. Before he could even turn off the car, she was outside the front door, waiting to greet them. Once she made her rounds, giving everyone a hug, she ushered them inside. 

“Sorry I don’t have many rooms,” Mary said sheepishly, “But you girls can take the air mattress in my office, and Jack, you can take the couch in the living room, if that’s okay.” “That’s perfect,” replied Jack with a smile, “I don’t sleep that much anyway.” 

Mary beamed at him, “Okay, you can all go put your bags down, and then we can get some dinner going.” 

-

Sam and Bela arrived mid-morning the following day, in time to take Kaia on a tour of the university campus, leaving Claire and Jack with the rest of the Winchesters. Bobby came over for breakfast, making some excuse about wanting to ask Dean about a case that he was in the process of figuring out, but everyone knew that it was much more about him missing his boys. 

“You know,” Bobby said, addressing the room, “I’d have to talk to Karen, but we have another house in town that we bought with the intention to flip, but... things got in the way and we never got around to it…if the girls want to take it…”

Dean looked at Claire, “Is that something you and Kaia would be interested in?” 

Claire nodded, “If Mrs. Singer says it’s okay, yeah. I don’t know much about renovation, but…” 

“That’s okay,” Dean replied, “Jody’s a contractor, I’m sure we can convince her to help us out somehow.” 

“Do you want to go see it?” Bobby offered, raising his eyebrows. 

Jack and Cas stayed back at the house with Mary, so Claire and Dean piled into Bobby’s truck beside him. After about fifteen minutes, they arrived at a rundown house near the edge of town. Bobby dug around on his key ring for a moment, before selecting one of them, slotting it into the lock of the front door. 

The inside wasn’t ideal. Broken windows had allowed water to enter, leaving a distinct moldy odor. The kitchen was filled with outdated appliances, and Claire wondered if they’d be able to afford to replace them. 

“I know it’s not much, but…” Bobby trailed off. 

“I love it,” Claire replied, beaming, “If it’s okay with your wife of course. I should also probably talk to Kaia,” she added hastily. 

-

Once they got back to the bunker, a few days after Kaia’s college tour, Sam sat Dean down in the library. 

“You know, Dean,” Sam said, looking up, meeting his brother’s eyes, “Kaia getting ready to go to college has me thinking about how I want to go and finish my own degree.” 

“Oh,” Dean replied, with a nod. “Okay. What do you need to do?” 

Sam rubbed the back of his neck, “I was thinking… since, for once the world isn’t ending… maybe I’d move out. Maybe Bela and I would move to Manhattan so that I could finish my degree up there.” 

“ _Oh,_ ” Dean said, understanding dawning on his face, “And have you talked to her about that?” 

Sam nodded, “Yeah… a few times. We’d only be a few hours away, I could come back to visit you guys and Jack on weekends. I could still stop by and go on hunts with you, I just… I feel like it’s finally the right time for me to finish my degree.” 

Dean took a swig out of the beer in front of him, “If that’s what you want, I’m happy for you.” 

“Nothing with us will change, Dean” Sam said earnestly, “I’ll visit and I’ll call as often as I can.”

“Yeah, okay Sammy,” replied Dean, “I gotta get dinner started.” 

They chatted amicably as they cooked - or as Dean cooked while Sam fumbled around trying to help. 

“So are you going to come to Sioux Falls with us to help with the remodel?” Dean asked

Sam shook his head, “If it’s alright with you, I think Bela and I need to go apartment hunting and I’m going to need to try and get my transcripts in order so that they’ll admit me again.” 

Dean nodded, “No problem. You’ve always been shit at building.”

Sam let out a laugh and shoved Dean, “You’re such an asshole.” 

“It’s my job, Sammy.” 

-

The remodel went about as well as expected, for two teenage girls, a former angel, a nephilim who didn’t even know how to hammer a nail, and Dean, whose only building experience was from fixing his car. They tried, they watched as many YouTube videos as they could get their hands on, they spent more time at the hardware store than anywhere else in town, but even Jack’s moderate mastery of magic couldn’t help them when it came to certain aspects of construction.

“Oh,” Jody spluttered as she walked in the door the first time, “This is certainly… a unique take on construction.” 

“I really thought it would be easier than this,” Dean replied, exhausted, “We did so much research.” 

Jody went through and told them everything that had been messed up in the days that they had been working on the house. Fortunately, with her help, things went much faster than that had been going, once she began delegating responsibilities to each of them, and recommending people she knew for the jobs that required specific knowledge, like redoing the plumbing in the house. 

Once the majority of the work inside was done, and all that was left was repainting the house, Dean and Cas took Claire and Kaia to a nearby Bed Bath and Beyond for housewares, and to a thrift store for a few pieces of furniture to get them started. Dean let the girls arrange their newly-bought furniture the way that they wanted, while Dean, Cas and Jack got started on painting the exterior of the house in the muted lavender tone that Claire and Kaia had chosen. 

The house was complete and ready for Claire and Kaia to finally move into, just a month shy of when Kaia’s classes would begin. At Dean’s request, however, Claire and Kaia returned to the bunker with him, Jack and Cas so that they could have a proper sendoff. 

-

In celebration of both Kaia and Sam going off to college, Dean went all-out. He ordered Cas and Jack to decorate the bunker, while he locked himself in the kitchen for hours on end, making all kinds of food for the party. 

He hadn’t wanted to invite all of their friends and family - they could do that for the holidays - because he wanted this going-away party to be more about saying goodbye to the sense of normalcy that they had developed in the bunker, an odd array of lost children, celestial beings and troubled adults, inextricably tied. 

When Cas came in to check on him, Dean had been dancing around to one of the pop albums that he pretended to hate when the kids wanted him to play it in the car. He fumbled to turn it off, but Cas’ eyebrows raised in a way that told Dean that his secret was out.

“I think everything is ready out there,” Cas said, “How close are you to being done in here?” Dean opened the oven and looked inside, “I think we’ll be ready to go in a few minutes. Did you get Claire and Kaia’s gift ready?” 

Cas nodded, “The only thing left is for you to sign the card.” He handed over the card and a pen, watching Dean expectantly. With one more glance at the pot on the stove to ensure that it wouldn’t burn, Dean leaned over the counter, quickly scrawling a message to the girls inside the card. 

Cas accepted the card back, stuffing it in the envelope on which he had already written **To Claire and Kaia**. He grimaced as he licked the adhesive, not a fan of the bitter taste. 

“Okay, I’ll meet you out there in a few minutes,” Cas said, turning to leave the kitchen with a smirk, “You can put your music back on.” 

-

Everyone chatted amicably, sticking to lighter topics while they ate the food that Dean had prepared, but as the dishes were cleared away, they knew that the more serious portion of the going-away party was inevitable. 

Cas cleared his throat, when he determined that the moment was right. “Claire, Kaia, when we thought about the two of you going out, living on your own out in Sioux Falls, we weren’t sure of what kind of gift to get you. We knew you had all the furniture you needed, we knew you wouldn’t want us picking out clothes for you… but we finally figured it out. We wanted to give you this,” he said as he handed them a small box. 

As Claire lifted the lid off the box, Cas continued, more choked up than he wanted to admit, “So that you can always come home.” 

Claire lifted up the key, looking at Cas and Dean, both of whom were openly crying now, “Is this… a car key?” 

Dean nodded, “I fixed her up nice for you, figured you’d need some way to get around town and, like Cas said… you know.” 

Both Claire and Kaia had tears brimming in their eyes as well when they stepped forward to hug Cas and Dean, and Sam and Bela for good measure. Dean led everyone out to the garage, where he showed Claire and Kaia the car he had fixed up for them. As the more confident driver, Claire slid into the driver’s seat, just to test it out.

“Damn, this is a nice car,” she marveled, “I don’t know how we could ever thank you for something like this.” 

Dean ruffled her hair, “You don’t have to thank us, kid. You needed a car, and the Men of Letters left a bunch here. That’s it. You don’t owe us shit.” 

-

“That’s finally the last of it,” Sam sighed in relief, flattening the last box. He and Bela were officially moved into their house - rented - in Manhattan, close to campus so that it was less than a ten minute drive, but far enough away they wouldn’t be too close to any regular campus activities. 

“Finally,” Bela pushed herself on her toes to kiss Sam. “I’m going to miss being so close to our friends and family but I’m very glad to get you all to myself.” Sam grinned and leaned down, lifting Bela by her thighs, and she easily wrapped her legs around him to hold herself up. 

“I love you,” Sam muttered, licking his lips as he watched her. “And I’m proud of you. For everything, really. You deserve everything after what you’ve been through.” 

“Good thing you can give me that then, isn’t it?” Bela carded her hands through Sam’s ever growing hair. “I love you too.” She leaned in to kiss him again, clutching tight as he walked them over to their couch and dropped onto it so she was straddling his lap. They made out lazily on the couch for a long while, without the intent to take it any further - both too tired from moving in over the past few days. 

“I’m proud of you too, you know?” Bela said, finally pulling away from Sam’s lips. “For finishing your degree. It’s been so long since you had to drop out. Over forty years, if you count your time in the pit.” 

“It is a long time,” Sam agreed, nuzzling into her neck. “But if we’re gonna be praising accomplishments, you deserve it for getting your certification to work as a curator. I’m glad that the art museum is giving you a chance.” Bela rolled her eyes fondly and kissed Sam again. 

“Come on, love, take me to bed. I need to be up bright and early to go to work,” she said with a laugh, clinging to Sam as he stood with her still in his grip. 

“You sound pretty excited about having to wake up in the morning,” he said as he walked them back toward the bedroom. 

“It’ll be the first time in my life I’ve had an actual, legal, job,” Bela explained, humming as Sam laid her on their bed. She rolled onto her side facing away from the other side and patted the mattress. “Come on, you know I like to be spooned.” 

“Of course,” Sam said, depositing his phone on the nightstand. He briefly pulled open the drawer just to double check the ring box stashed in the back corner - still nestled safely amongst a few books and a box of condoms. He shut the drawer and slid into bed behind Bela, pulling her back against his chest. “Whatever you want.” 

-

With Kaia and Claire in Sioux Falls, and Sam and Bela in Manhattan, only Cas, Dean, and Jack were left in the bunker. They had gotten into routine, the last few weeks with just the three of them. Cas and Jack would work together most of the day on his schooling, making sure that his education was standard enough that he would be able to get a job if he ever chose, and Dean helped other hunters. He had set up a few different phone lines - much like Bobby had - and acted as a resource for anyone in need. 

It was quieter, and Jack had much more time to himself. He was currently watching the news, something Cas had him do at least once a day, and the story that was playing now was about an influx of Pit Bulls being dropped off at shelters or abandoned due to new laws restricting the breed of dogs allowed in certain cities. Jack paid rapt attention as the news anchors finished up the story, and as soon as it went to commercial, Jack was up and running down the hallway to the library where Cas and Dean were both reading. 

“What’s up kid?” Dean asked, glancing up at Jack as he rushed in. 

“We have to save the dogs!” he said, voice panicked and shaky. 

“What dogs, Jack?” Cas asked, turning to better face his son. 

“The Pit Bulls! I just saw on the news how they’re being abandoned, we have to save them!” Jack explained hurriedly, trying to make sure his dads knew how important this was. 

“That is terrible, Jack, but we cannot save _all_ the dogs,” Cas tried to reason with him. “It’s just not feasible, I’m sorry.” 

“What about one then? What if we get one from the shelter that people are dropping them off at?” Jack asked earnestly, looking between Cas and Dean. 

“Absolutely not, kid, we’re not getting a dog,” Dean shot down the idea before Jack could even begin to hope. “I’m sorry, but it’s not happening.” Jack gaped at him for a long moment before leaving the room in a huff, stomping back to his own bedroom. He made sure to slam the door loud enough for Dean to hear and then collapsed onto his bed, angry tears welling in his eyes. 

-

Jack didn’t speak with Dean for three days following his refusal to adopt a dog. He spoke with Cas still, but any time Dean tried to talk to him, Jack simply left the room. Even when they had gone out to go grocery shopping, Jack followed them silently. It was only on the way back to the bunker that he finally broke his self-imposed vow. 

“Stop the car!” he cried, sitting up straight and staring at the window. Dean slammed the brakes, swearing loudly but Jack paid him no mind. As soon as the car had come to a stop, Jack threw the door open and stared at the dog on the other side of the road. It was grey and skinny, definitely dirty, but it looked scared too. Jack slowly approached it, ignoring his dads’ calls, kneeling a few feet away. “Hello,” he whispered, holding a hand out to the dog. “I won’t hurt you, I promise. I want to take you somewhere safe.” 

The dog watched him warily for a long moment before he sniffed Jack’s hand. Jack wasn’t sure if it was because he was a nephilim or something else, but the dog decided immediately that he was trustworthy and nuzzled into his grip, soon stepping forward to tuck itself against Jack’s body. 

“Kid,” Dean said as he and Cas walked up behind him. 

“We have to take her home,” Jack said quietly, softly stroking the dog’s head. “She’s hungry. She won’t survive out here on her own.” He wasn’t sure what Dean and Cas were doing, but after a few minutes, Cas told him to bring the dog to the car. Jack turned to look at them with a bright smile, carefully lifting the dog and carrying him over to the Impala. 

“Don’t worry,” he told the dog, rubbing it’s back. “I’ll take care of you.” 

As soon as they arrived home, Jack led the dog to the kitchen. “What do dogs eat?” he asked his dads as they followed him. 

“Meat,” Dean said, opening up the fridge. He found a package of ground chuck and emptied it into a bowl, handing it over to Jack. “She can have that, but we’re taking her to the shelter tomorrow.” 

“But Dean-” Jack started to protest but Dean cut him off with his no-nonsense look. 

“I said we’re taking her to the shelter,” with that, Dean left the kitchen, Cas shooting Jack a sympathetic look as he followed Dean, hopefully to try and convince him otherwise. 

“It’s okay,” Jack told the dog. “I’ll convince him to keep you. I should probably name you first…” he looked down at the dog, and considered what he could name her, and suddenly, he thought of the perfect name. “Paperclip!” 

The dog, now Paperclip, tilted his head and perked his ears up. “It’s perfect,” Jack said with a smile. The two spent the rest of the day together, Jack sitting with Paperclip while she ate and then taking her outside when Cas suggested that she might need to urinate. They walked around the perimeter of the bunker and even without a leash, Paperclip never strayed more than a few feet from Jack’s side. Jack showed her around the bunker once they were inside again, explaining each room and what it was for. Paperclip followed him around diligently the entire time, seemingly smiling at him as she sat and listened.

That night, Jack allowed Paperclip to sleep in his bed and he cuddled the dog, petting her gently until the early hours of the morning when he finally dozed off himself. 

-

The next morning, when Jack entered the kitchen, Paperclip at his heels, Cas and Dean were already up with mugs of coffee in their hands. 

“You ready to take the dog to the shelter?” Dean asked, looking at him pointedly. Jack stood up straight in defiance. 

“We can’t take Paperclip to the shelter. We have bonded and it would hurt the both of us a lot to be away from one another,” he said confidently, just like Dean taught him. 

“Paperclip? You named the dog Paperclip?” Dean asked incredulously, face screwed up in shock. “Paper...fine. Fucking fine, keep the dog.” Jack beamed and rushed forward, hugging Dean tightly. 

“Thank you thank you thank you!” he almost squealed, turning to Paperclip. “We’ll have to make a list of things you need! You need food, and a bed, and toys…” Jack continued his list as he walked out of the kitchen with Paperclip, not noticing the matching fond but exasperated smiles his dads wore. 

-

Though Claire was incredibly proud of Kaia, who was part way through her first semester of college, she felt out of place and disoriented, because while she knew she didn’t want to go to college, she didn’t know where she was supposed to go with her life. Aside from the occasional odd job, she spent most of her time taking care of the house to avoid the spiral that her brain always threatened to take her down.

After she had gone through three rounds of cleaning every inch of their house, she was still most of the way to a full-blown panic attack. She plopped down on the couch, heart beating rapidly as her chest heaved with shaky breaths. Before her mind got in her way, she dialed Dean’s phone number. 

He picked up on the first ring, a trace of panic in his voice, “Is everything okay? Are you hurt?”

She sniffled a laugh at that, he was such a father even if he didn’t know it. “I don’t know how to do this, Dean.”

She heard Dean take a deep breath and close a door - probably the door to his bedroom, her brain supplied. “What is ‘this’, specifically? Living on your own?” 

“No… I did that, kind of. It’s not that. I’m used to taking care of myself. I just don’t know how to have a life. Before my dad… I knew what I was supposed to do. Graduate high school, go to college, find a husband…” 

Dean laughed a bit at that, “Well, you don’t need a husband, and you don’t need to go to college. Did you graduate high school?” 

“My grades weren’t good, but I pulled through,” she explained, “But I just… where do I go from here? Do I get a job? Do I volunteer somewhere? Do I hunt?” 

“Absolutely no hunting by yourself,” Dean said sternly. “Why don’t you see if Jody or Donna know of somewhere that you could work? My mom might be able to help you out too, but she runs a small business out of her house, so I don’t know that she’d have much to offer in that department.”

Remembering how much she had enjoyed being around Jody and Donna, she smiled. “Could you give me Donna’s phone number, actually? She works at an elementary school, right?” 

“Yeah,” Dean replied, “Is that something you’d be interested in?” 

“I always wanted to help kids,” Claire said with a smile, “I’m going to give her a call.”

“That sounds perfect, then. I’m sure she can point you in the direction of what you’d need to do to get started. Just know that we’re proud of you, and that no matter what you do. Cas and I will be there to support you. Just come home every once in a while, okay?” 

“Okay,” Claire choked out, not wanting to cry again, “I gotta go. I’ll see you soon.”

-

Dean hung up the phone and dropped it onto the table in front of him, Cas looking up from his book. “Is she okay?” he asked worriedly. 

“She will be,” Dean said. “She’s just scared cause she’s 18 and has no idea what she wants to do with her life. Told her she’ll figure it out and that we’ll be here for her no matter what.” 

“She will. She’s very smart and very capable,” Cas said thoughtfully. “I’m...I’m very grateful that my presence in her life, and the effects of it, have not done irreparable damage.” 

“Angel,” Dean reached over and took Cas’ hand in his. “I know how you feel about what you did to the Novaks and Claire, but she understands the circumstances, we all do. Things were different then, you were different. And what her mom did was awful, but you had no control over that. What matters is that you’re here now.” 

“You know, even after I pulled Sam from Hell, this is never what I imagined my life as,” Cas said. “Being with you was something out of my wildest dreams but….having Jack and Claire and Kaia, it was not something I could have ever predicted.”

“Neither could I, babe. I’m 29, and I’ve somehow got three teenage kids now,” Dean said with a laugh. “Didn’t know if I would ever even have any and now I’ve got a fucking pack. We have a pack.” 

“We?” Cas raised his eyebrows. 

“Of course we, you fucking dumbass. You’re stuck with me. Forever,” Dean leaned over and kissed him, smiling against Cas’ lips. “You’re stuck with all of us.” 

“There is no place I’d rather be, Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, or Earth, than right here, with you,” Cas whispered, leaning in to kiss Dean once more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading this fic! You can find me on tumblr @hazloveshisboo and Grace @hellerberniesanders! Also, there are several possibilities that we will write a sequel/one shots set in this universe because we love it so much so keep an eye out!

**Author's Note:**

> you can find us on tumblr @hazloveshisboo and @hellerjesuschrist. 
> 
> This is a completed fic, updates will be every Monday, Wednesday and Friday!


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